Girls With Brown Eyes
by TheBaeTide
Summary: Rick has been stuck in an undersirable position with his wife for months, and just as it begins to take its tole on him, he finds a reason to try happiness, over torture. AU. No walkers. Love Sick Rick. Fierce Michonne. Some LoRick.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"...And I swear to God, Mickey literally flew through the air! Like he flew through the fucking air dad!"

Rick smirked as he tore his gaze away from his son, driving again as the traffic light turned green, "No way? And watch your mouth."

Carl rolled his eyes, "Alright, sorry, but I swear! You can ask Duane! He was there!"

"You guys better be careful. I don't want the school calling me or your mother complaining about you damaging their shit"

"We are. I think Mickey just chipped his tooth or something… his mom didn't even notice"

"Or maybe she did but she knew that bill wouldn't be a nice one", Rick muttered to himself as he parked the car on the side of the street, "Come on, I need to have a quick word with your mother"

"Alright"

The eleven year old boy climbed out the truck, and Rick did the same, being sure to tuck a small brown envelope in the back of his jeans pocket. It was early in the evening, and the father and son duo had spent the weekend together, as they had been doing for the past year and a half. Rick would have preferred to have his son more often, but his work was unscheduled, and often unpredictable.

They skipped up the steps to his estranged wife's townhouse, and Carl rang the doorbell. Rick adjusted his black baseball cap, not entirely sure why he always felt slightly nervous seeing the woman face to face, though he knew it was possible that his pathetic amount of willpower had something to do with it.

The door opened, and the Brunette appeared, drying her hands on a dish cloth as she began to glow, "Hey buddy! You're back"

"Hey mom", Carl flashed her a quick smile before turning back to his father, "See you next week, dad"

"Bye son, and remember what I said", Rick tousled the boy's hair as stepped into the home.

"Got it!".

His mother glanced behind her, obviously waiting until Carl was out of earshot to speak, "So… everything went fine this weekend?"

Rick nodded as he retrieved the envelope from his back pocket, "Yeah, fine. Here you go"

She hesitated, though still took it, "I thought we could maybe set up some kind of bank transfer? I don't like keeping this much money in the house…"

He gave her a little shrug, "I give it how I get it, but if you want to do all that then, sure"

"Yeah. Thanks", She leaned against the doorframe, "So… You have a job tonight?"

"Yeah, I've got to get to it pretty soon…", He shifted his stance when he noticed a familiar look in her big brown eyes, "...I can come by later… might be after midnight though, Lori"

The corners of her lips curled into a smile, "Yeah… just message me or something… let me know"

He nodded as he backed up, "Alright. Later"

"Bye."

Rick's relationship with his wife was a strange one, to say the least. He didn't like to think about it too much, as he knew it would leave him feeling empty. He still loved her greatly, and truth be told, he would call off the divorce in a heartbeat if she agreed to give their marriage another chance, but the fact of the matter was, she didn't want to be with him in such a way again, which crushed him.

He couldn't explain how the two of them had started their purely sexual arrangement, but he was almost happy to oblige to her needs. He would take whatever he could get from her, and when they were sleeping together, she showed him that love, affection and attention that he wanted. His friends thought he was ludicrous for entertaining her, knowing that he was secretly hoping for her to change her mind, and he wished he wasn't such a fool, but he just couldn't turn away when she called.

" _Hey! Where the fuck are you man_?"

Rick tapped his phone screen on the dashboard of his car as he drove, "Speak up, you're on loudspeaker, I'm driving"

" _I said, where the fuck are you_?", His friend and partner quizzed hurriedly.

"Did you find him? Where is he?"

" _That club on eighth, we just saw him go in, so get your ass over here now!_ "

"Alright Glenn, I'll be there in two minutes"

He tapped the screen again, and slowly pressed his foot down on the accelerator, speeding down the nearly bare streets.

Only one security guard was stood outside the club, leaning against the door as he read a newspaper. Rick reached into his glove compartment and slipped on his earpiece, pulling his hat down even lower than usual.

"Alright, I'm going in".

He hopped out of his truck, slipping his 9mm in the back of his waistband, as well as a pair of handcuffs while peered further down the street at the black minivan. He gave a discrete wave of the hand as he approached the building, and Glenn flashed the hazard lights back. The guard barely even glanced at Rick as he walked in, and he was grateful for the man's disinterest.

He walked through a dimly lit passageway with red lights flashing rhythmically above his head, until he reached a small entry room, where a slender, older woman sat behind a counter, flicking aimlessly through a magazine. A large flat screen sat on the wall behind her, and pictures of scantily clad women would slide past occasionally.

He noticed two doorways; one leading to a flight of stairs behind a beaded curtain, and the other leading to a bar area with a stage, where a young blonde woman was dancing sensually around a pole with a small audience in front of her. Four men sat at the bar, looking very out of place, as they wore all black suits and appeared very clean shaven.

The woman at the counter looked up at him, and flashed a well-rehearsed smile, "Hey there handsome, what are you here for?"

" _Blake's in one of the back rooms, getting a private dance_ ", Glenn chirped in his ear.

"Can I get a private dance?", Rick requested, resting his forearms on the counter.

"Of course you can", The woman picked up a remote and aimed it at the screen, "Here's who we have in tonight…"

Rick's eyes darted behind the silver haired woman, and scanned the individual pictures on the screen. It only took him a few seconds to choose, "Can I get a dance from… Mimi Frost, please?"

"Yes, you can. It's fifty dollars a song, but this dancer doesn't offer strip teases, sorry, and we ask kindly that you keep your hands to yourself, and security is always operating throughout the club so please be mindful of that", the woman explained, "You pay fifty now, and any subsequent dances, you pay Frost. Alright?"

Rick reached into his pocket and fished out a fifty from a bundle of cash, "That's fine by me"

"Great", The woman took the bill, and quickly picked up the phone beside her, "Sending one up, doll... Alright, bye"

Rick straightened up as he looked towards the bar, keeping an eye on the men had he spotted earlier.

"Alright, so up those stairs, last door on the right".

Rick thanked the woman with a nod of his head, before making his way to the second floor. He had been in strip clubs many times before due to his work, but he still wasn't used to the atmosphere he often encountered. There was a clash of music as he strolled along the narrow hallway, where another security guard was sat at the end, reading a book with a little flash light, not even attempting to look at Rick. He found himself at his designated room, and knocked twice.

The door slowly opened after a short moment, and Rick found himself stunned. A woman with dark, glowing skin stood in front of him, wearing a white, cleavage baring cat suit, with horizontal slits at the sides. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, with little silver clips glistening from her locks, and her glitter covered nails sparkled when she moved.

She sent him a warm smile, as she stepped back, "Come on in"

Rick did what she said automatically, closing the door behind him with his foot, "Hey"

"So how about you take a seat while I put the first song on", She offered, gesturing towards the love seat in the small room.

Rick tugged out his earpiece as he caught up with himself, "How about you have a seat? I'd like to have a little talk, if you don't mind?"

Her smile seemed to be glued on, though her brows furrowed, "Excuse me?"

"I just wanna have a little talk… that's all", Rick raised his hands innocently.

"...You don't want a dance?"

"...I didn't say that, I said I'd like to talk"

She eyed him suspiciously as she crossed her arms over her chest, her smile slowly fading away, "A talk?"

"That's right. Please?"

She seemed to mull over the request for a while, still looking him head to toe, before finally strutting over to the seat, "Alright. Go on"

Rick crouched down in front of her, "Mimi Frost?"

"Yes."

"What's your real name, Mimi?"

"Why does it matter?", She challenged.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know once I know all that I need to know from you, deal?"

She narrowed her eyes at him as she crossed her legs, "Michonne."

"Michonne?", He tilted his head as he repeated her name.

She rose her eyebrows, signalling he was correct.

"Alright, Michonne, what's the most you make in a night here? And how many hours do you have to do, to get that?"

She began to frown, "... I don't know… maybe a thousand… eight hours?"

"How would you like to make three thousand in the next five minutes?"

Her eyes widened, "Doing _what?"_

He reached in his black member's only jacket and pulled out a small passport sized picture, "All you have to do is find out which one of these rooms has this man in it"

She leaned forward as she squinted at the picture, "Why?"

"Because I'm a bounty hunter, and he's a wanted man, so it's time for me to take him in"

Her eyes darted back to him, "And all I have to do is find him in here and you pay me three thousand dollars?"

"That's all you have to do".

Her gaze scanned over him, "You don't look like you have three thousand dollars on you now?"

He chuckled lightly, "Because I don't. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I have class."

The ghost of a smile that he wore quickly disappeared, "How old are you?"

She rolled her eyes, "I meant college classes, I'm twenty-three"

' _Thank god_ ', Rick thought, "You go to that college not far from here?"

"Yes."

"What's your major?"

"Psychology"

"Nice", Rick raised an eyebrow at her, "Well, what time do you get off?"

"Two."

"I'll come meet you in the parking lot at two then. Hope you don't mind cash?"

"Obviously, I don't", She responded dryly.

Rick found himself chortling at her again, "Alright. So it's a deal?"

She slowly inhaled, "Fine. Deal"

He stood up and peered back at the door as he slipped his earpiece back in, "Alright, you wanna see the picture again?"

"Nah, he's younger than the guys that usually come here so he won't be hard to find", She rose from her seat and inched past him, "So I just find him, and come back and tell you where he is?"

"That's it.", Rick gave her a single nod.

"Okay".

He watched her disappear out the room, feeling slightly giddy from her presence.

" _Hey, Romeo, we heard all that you know_ ", Glenn pipped in his ear.

"Shut up", Rick dismissed, looking around the small room, "Did you call the police?"

" _Yeah, they know we're bringing him in_ -"

"We might need back up, I spotted four guys at the bar that looked like they were probably with him"

" _What? Shit, why didn't you say something? I'll call a few people out_ "

"Alright"

Rick took a look at himself in the mirrored wall to the left of him, suddenly concerned that he didn't look his best. He was sure he saw a few grey hairs in his beard, and his jeans were well worn out, but sadly, it was too late to worry about making better first impressions.

The door creaked open, and Michonne swiftly stepped in, closing the door behind her, "He's across the hall, second room"

"Yeah? Alright, hold on", He reached behind him in his waist band and pulled out his gun, "Glenn? Hey, I'm going in now"

Michonne's eyes widened at the sight of the weapon, "Oh boy…"

"Just stay in here, you hear me? Don't come out unless someone comes and gets you", He instructed, stepping closer to the door.

She nodded, inching past him a second time, "Okay"

"Well I'll see you tomorrow, Michonne. Don't forget, two o'clock"

"Got it.", She took a seat on the edge of the love seat.

He stepped out the room and unhooked his badge, showing the security guard at the end of the hall. The other man froze, holding his hands up in surrender, leading Rick to shake his head at him and point to the door in front of him. The security guard dropped his hands and nodded, before slowly standing up.

Rick listened to the faint moans coming from behind Blake's door, frowning when he realised he might stumble upon a scene he didn't necessarily want to witness. He looked back to the security guard, who was stuck in the offence position, for reasons unbeknownst to Rick.

He shoved the door open and held his weapon out in front of him, "Easy now, Blake!"

The dancer quickly climbed off the wanted man and ran to the corner of the room, while Blake groaned, slowly raising his hands in the air, "What the fuck is this?"

"This is me, arresting you for suspicion of fraud and money laundering. You missed the court date didn't you? That wasn't smart at all", Rick mocked as he stepped gingerly towards him, "Now Philip, I need you on your knees, hands on your head, now"

The other man snarled at Rick as he did what he was told, "Where are my guys?"

" _Freeze! Nobody move_!", Rick could hear Shane from his earpiece and he grinned at Philip, "Don't worry, they're coming with you"

Rick used one hand to fish out the pair of handcuffs from his waistband, just as Philip decided for lunge for his waist. The gun went off, the bullet piercing a speaker on the wall, and the female dancer screamed, cowering in a ball, while the two men wrestled on the floor. Philip attempted to mount Rick, and wrestle the gun off of him, but Rick kneed the man in the groin, making him howl in pain, and giving Rick the chance to head-butt him in the nose.

Rick shoved him off, and quickly found his footing, aiming the gun at him again, "What the hell was that?!"

"Fuck you!", Philip spat venomously as he rolled around on the floor, his nose bleeding.

"Fucking asshole", He huffed, looking towards the shocked security guard, "Come over here and hold him down while I put the cuffs on him"

"Alright", The pale man nodded, quickly running over to help him.

"Hey! You alright there?", Rick asked the redheaded dancer.

The woman peeked out from behind her hands, "I-I think so?"

"Good".

The security guard did indeed help Rick get the man in the pair of handcuffs, and proceeded to carry him, kicking and screaming, down the stairs and out the building, where the other hunters were waiting. Philip joined his men in the back of the black minivan van, while Rick quickly caught up with Shane and Glenn.

"How much was his bond again?", Rick quizzed, glancing over his shoulder at the club.

"Fifty thousand", Glenn informed, "We got another big one coming in too, one hundred thousand dollars"

Rick whipped his head around to look at his friend, "Yeah? When?"

"Next few days, Daryl's going to send me over the details soon"

"Then we better be prepared for that", Shane clapped his hands together as he peered past them, "Let's get this show on the road boys"

Rick was tempted to go back into the building to check on Michonne, but he knew that chances where she was fine, so that excuse was no good, and he had to get to the police department as soon as possible.

She had unintentionally left a lasting impression on him. He had never felt at ease in someone's company in a matter of minutes before, and it captivated him. He could have easily stayed crouched at her feet for a while longer, bombarding her with questions.

It had been the first time since his separation from Lori that another woman had even caught his attention, and it put him in a confusing position, as he didn't want to throw away what he had, and what he could possibly retrieve, with his wife, despite the odds being against him. He didn't want to be so quick to give up hope.

Rick decided to put the encounter with Michonne at the back of his mind, especially when he found himself buried deep within Lori's walls later that night.

She clung to him, covering her mouth with her hand as he gave her everything she wanted, and more. He peppered her neck with little kisses, immersing himself in the little moans that left her, desperate to hear her cry out, but knowing it wasn't possible with Carl's room only feet away from hers.

The last thing she wanted was for their son to believe that they were rekindling their romance, so Rick often left shortly after their trysts, which was another part of their arrangement that he didn't like.

Lori's nails dug into his shoulder as her back arched, her orgasm taking hold. The feel of her heat pulsing around his length drew his own release from him, and his movements became sporadic, before stopping completely. They shared a sloppy kiss as they both cascaded down from their high, spent from their liaison.

"This was nice", Lori smiled, looking up at him with tired eyes.

"It was…", Rick gazed down at her as he leaned on his forearms.

"You always know how to take care of me…"

He pursed his lips at her remark, "Well… obviously not _enough…"_

She rolled her eyes at him, "Don't do that Rick. This was nice, I love this and I love you, too… I just think we work better this way"

"Yeah… I know", He sighed as he looked over at her alarm clock, "I have to get going soon"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm pretty tired now anyway so thanks for that", She winked at him as she chuckled quietly, and Rick hated how it made his heart warm.

"It's what I'm here for"

It was another visit to Lori that left him feeling dejected, and he was reaching the point where he'd question why he was torturing himself in such a way. He'd feel so excited whenever she messaged or called him asking him to come over, and he loved how she behaved when she wanted him, but once the sex was over, he'd come crashing back down to reality, knowing that's all he was to her now.

When he arrived back at his apartment in the early hours of the morning, he kicked off his boots and threw his jacket down on his couch, heading straight to bed to get some rest before the sun rose again.

The next day, Rick awoke near lunch time, as he was fortunate not to have a set schedule, but still prepared for the day in a hurry. He had almost forgotten that he was meant to meet Michonne at the college, and when he did remember, he sprinted into action.

Once he was fed, washed and dressed, he went under his bed and pulled out one of the many shoe boxes that held his cash. He took out three bundles and shoved them in an envelope, before shoving the box back under the bed.

He was glad he was able to prepare to make a better impression the second time around, wearing a black t-shirt with his blue jeans and black boots. He had always worn a baseball cap, as he found that people didn't always pay attention to others that wore hats. He wanted to be inconspicuous, as it helped him to his job without fault.

He left his apartment and hopped in his truck, growling when he realised he was cutting it close. Mondays in the city where always one of the busiest days, and he wasn't able to speed as much as he'd liked to on the main streets, so instead he stuck to the side roads, racing to the college.

He seemed to arrive just in time, as he immediately spotted Michonne walking away, so he honked his horn to get her attention. She spun around with narrowed eyes, stopping when she saw it was him.

She looked incredibly different from the night before, wearing a large baseball jersey over a white t-shirt and white tennis shoes. She also looked tired, which left Rick to question what time she arrived home.

He pulled up in the parking spot closest to her and excited his truck as she approached him, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, "You alright?"

"Yeah", She nodded, shielding her eyes from the sun, "I thought you weren't coming"

"I was, but I woke up a little late and traffic…", He reached through his driver side window and took out the envelope, "Here."

She eyed him as she took it from him, taking a little peak inside, "Well. You were serious…"

"You didn't believe me?"

"I wasn't sure. It's not every day that you get an offer like that", She pulled her backpack off and shoved the money inside.

"True but… I'm a man of my word"

She looked at him with her brown, doughy eyes as she began to smile, "Great to know…"

Rick bit his lip as he leered at her, "So… what are you doing now?"

"...I have to go pick up my son"

His eyes widened, "You have a son?"

"Yeah, I know", She sighed, "Dancer that's going to college with a young child-"

"No… it's not that… I-I didn't mean it like that, it's just… I wasn't expecting to hear that. That's all. I have a son too so… and I had him when I was eighteen…"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "How old is he now?"

"Eleven."

"So you're twenty nine…"

"I am…"

"And married…", Her gaze lingered on his left hand for a moment, "I guess being a bounty hunter is the only way you get to go to a strip club when you're married, huh?"

He chuckled as he shook his head, "Well, yeah, but no… we're separated…"

"Oh… shoot. Sorry about that"

"Thanks…"

"Well, thanks for the money, I guess?", She smiled, backing away slowly.

"Yeah, no problem…", Rick didn't want their second encounter to come to an end sooner than their first, "Uh, can I see you again? Sometime?"

She stopped, "You want to see me again?"

He nodded, "If you want?"

Surprisingly, she giggled after staring at him for a moment, "I hope that's not code for 'You still owe me that dance'..."

He laughed heartily at her joke, "No, it's not… it's code for, 'I'm pretty sure I like you… and I'd like to see you again'..."

A shy smile spread across her lips, "Yeah? Okay, well, sure…"

His stomach fluttered at from her sweet demeanour, "Do you finish here the same time tomorrow?"

She nodded, her ponytail bounced at the back of her head.

"We can go get somethan' to eat? If you're not in a rush to get your son?"

"That sounds good. I can sort something out…"

"Great", He grinned, "Same time, same place?"

"Okay…", She began backing up again, "Uh.. I don't know your name?"

"Rick."

"Rick… okay. Bye _Rick",_ She gave him a small wave, her fingers fluttering as she turned around and walked away.

Rick leaned against his car, feeling a wave of excitement crash over him as he stared after her, and for the first time in months, he felt good leaving a girl with brown eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Mom? I'm home!"

Michonne strolled into the apartment, dropping her bag on the floor as she called out for her mother, "Mom?"

"We're coming! Just hold on a second!", her mother appeared from the bathroom, carrying her son in a towel, "I had to give him a bath because he decided that he'd put all of his yogurt in his hair, and not his mouth-"

"Go-Gurt!", Andre clapped his hands together excitedly.

Michonne grinned at the little boy as she walked over to him, "Hey, baby! Have you been a good boy for grandma?"

The toddler nodded, causing water to drop from his curls.

"Good boy. Go get ready for work mom, I got him from here", She insisted, bouncing the little toddler as she walked to their bedroom.

"I'm going to talk to Dale about hiring you today", Her mother announced as she began to move around the room, picking up toys.

"You don't have to mom-"

"Michonne-"

"It's fine, mom-"

"You got home at what time last night? Three in the morning? Then you have to go to class five hours later?"

"I know, but no other bar pays as well"

"I get that honey, but I don't like you in a strip club. Even if you are just a waitress. These poor women getting groped on by those nasty old men just to make ends meet… it ain't right"

She shamefully looked elsewhere, "I know,

mom"

"I don't like you in that kind of environment around those times, I want you safe-"

"I know!"

Michonne hated lying to her mother, but she was in a position to help her mother with the money she made. Dancing wouldn't be the only thing she hid, as she wasn't in a rush to tell her about Rick, either. Her mother wanted Michonne's focus to be on Andre and college, which it was, but she was curious about Rick. He wasn't like the type of guys she had usually came across, especially as none of them had ever paid her a large sum of money for doing next to nothing, and while she didn't consider it as hush money, she hadn't told anyone about what had happened. She definitely wasn't going to tell her paranoid mother either.

"Let's get you dressed", She muttered as she laid her son on the bed, "We need to cover that little tummy up before you catch a cold"

The little boy quickly sat up, "Juice!"

"In a little while, okay? First…", She held up his t-shirt, "Clothes"

Her son covered his face with his hands as he rolled back onto the bed, leading Michonne to chuckle at him. He was indeed her top priority, and she adored him with all her heart. Her mother had encouraged her to continue on with her education when she discovered she was pregnant, and the decision had left them worse off financially, but she couldn't dream of having it any other way.

Her thoughts travelled to the money Rick had gave her, and once she had dressed her son, she headed back to the living and kitchen area, "Are we all caught up with this month?"

Her mother glanced at her as she packed her lunch for work, "Yeah, just that damn light bill… might be a little late though-"

"I can give you some more money towards it. And the next one."

Her mother frowned, "You've already given me your share for the month so don't even worry about it-"

"I know but let me help with the next ones", She insisted, bouncing her son on her hip.

Her mother looked at her suspiciously, "Why? What's going on here?"

"I got a lot of tips last night… the bar was busy… some kind of bachelor party… so I can pay more"

"Then it should go to Andre. That was our arrangement, I take care of the bills and you pay for his upkeep-"

"I can still do both, okay? So I'll pay that off and then you can put that money to something else"

The older woman gave her a warm smile, "Thank you, honey"

"No problem"

Michonne wanted to do more than just help her mother with one or two bills, but she didn't want her mother to grow any more suspicious than she naturally was.

She usually spent her evenings studying, when she wasn't working. She didn't consider herself to have much of a social life, though it didn't bother her too much, as she had more important matters at hand.

Andre was fast asleep beside her in bed, when she heard her cell phone ring on the nightstand. She reached over and grabbed it, holding her books against her chest so she didn't lost the page, "Hello?"

"Michonne? What's going on?"

"Hey, Mike. Nothing. Just studying…", She switched the phone to her other ear as she got comfortable.

"Nothing new there. How's Andre doing?", Her friend queried.

"He's good. Fast asleep… my mom said he went a bit crazy with his yogurt earlier, so I guess that's been the highlight of his day…"

The man chuckled into the receiver, "I wish my life was that simple"

"Me too. How'd rehearsals go?"

"Pretty good. I've been working on my lines all week and it's paying off"

She slowly nodded as she flicked the page in her text book, "That's great to hear"

"I went by the library today, I didn't see you?"

"Nah, I had to leave early, my mom had work"

"Oh yeah… well, I can take Andre for an afternoon if you want? All my classes are in the morning, so I can take him... you can go study..."

"Yeah?", She quickly considered his offer, "How about tomorrow? I was going to ask Maggie but-"

"I can do it. I should be doing it, he's my son after all. I feel like we're not doing our equal share here…"

"Well… our setups pretty strange", She sighed, dropping back against the headboard of her bed.

"I know, but I want you to be able to call me more often… not just to talk about your major or things like that, about him too."

"Yeah… Well we'll try that out"

"Cool. So I'll come by tomorrow around one? Pick him up?"

"Yeah, you can. I'll let my mom know so she doesn't freak out on you"

Mike chuckled a second time, "I try not to take it personally"

"You should though because she hates you, just as much as your parents hate me", She responded dryly.

"My parents don't hate you-"

"Mike."

"They don't! They're just… you know how they are. You know how they've always saw things… just give them time."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Sure."

"...How's work going?"

"...Great. Couldn't be better", She responded with an obviously sarcastic tone.

"It's still shit then?"

"You know it."

The next day began as usual for Michonne. She woke up, fed herself and her son, before dressing for the day. Her daytime attire always teetered on the verge of very casual and lounge wear. She purposely wore jerseys and shirts that were three sizes too big, or jeans that had to be held up by a belt. It was her way of being invisible during the day.

"Mom, Mike's coming by to take Andre this afternoon", Michonne announced to her mother when she walked into the kitchen area.

"What for?", her mother snorted, feeding Andre pieces of fruit as he sat on the kitchen counter.

"Because he's his son", Michonne informed flatly, "And he's allowed to take him sometimes?"

"Exactly. Sometimes. He doesn't take him more frequently because of those no good parents of his, thinking their precious son is too good for fatherhood at this age-"

"He tries, mom"

"Not enough. I do more for this little boy than he does. I'm the second set of hands that help you-"

"And he appreciates everything you do, and that's why he wants to help out more-"

"He wants to help out more?", Her mother raised a questioning eyebrow at her as she held out an orange slice for the toddler, "How about he get a job and buy a few things for Andre? Instead of waiting for his 'big break'? How about he sees his son more than once every two or three weeks? How about he says something to his stuffy, uptight parents?"

Michonne huffed as she put her hands on her hips, "Have you got it all out of your system now? Will you be civil when he gets here?"

Her mother scowled, "Yes."

"Good. Thank you", She left shortly after her mother's little rant.

Michonne always made sure to arrive to her classes early, so she could get a seat right at the front, as she always took more interest in learning than her peers. She didn't necessarily take her education as seriously before she had Andre, but once the infant arrived, she knew she had to adjust her attitude towards her studies, and she felt as if it was paying off when she made the Dean's list.

As afternoon approached and her classes were complete for the day, she headed to the parking lot to wait for Rick, while messaging Mike to see how her son was. She was in the middle of sending him a message when a phone call came through, leading her to smile, "Hey, Mags."

"Hey! Where are you? I just got out of class", Maggie sounded as if she were in a crowd of people.

"I'm in the parking lunch, I'm going out for lunch"

"Yeah? Well wait for me, I'll come with"

Michonne cringed, "With a guy."

Her friend was silent for a moment, "Who? Who is he?"

"I met him at the club"

"Oh god, no, Michonne don't-"

"He wasn't a customer, he was there for work"

"Yeah, right! Was there a tan line where his ring was meant to be?"

Michonne exhaled through her nose as she tried not laugh, "I'm being serious."

"Is he there yet?"

"No… not yet-"

"Good, I'm coming. I want to see him"

"Oh my god-"

Maggie hung up, and Michonne's head rolled back in exasperation. Maggie had become a good friend of hers since they started college, and one of the few people she could count on, but she knew her friend wouldn't hold back in the presence of someone new, especially a male.

A black truck pulled into the parking lot while Michonne was in the midst of thinking of a possible excuse, prior to Maggie's arrival, which explained her strange behaviour. To her dismay, Maggie appeared only seconds later, panting slightly.

"You ran here, didn't you?", Michonne growled.

"Of course I did", Maggie scoffed, resting her hand on Michonne's shoulder as she tried to catch her breath, "I've got a damn stitch"

"Go away, Maggie"

"No. I want to see his face and his car, in case he tried to kidnap you or somethan'. This is what good friends do"

Michonne couldn't help but giggle, "Thanks, but I don't think he's a-"

The truck pulled up in front of them, and both women quickly straightened up. Rick climbed out of his truck, and strolled around his vehicle, turning his baseball cap to the back as he smiled, "Y'all alright?"

"Hey. This is my friend Maggie", Michonne introduced, crossing her arms over her chest, "Maggie, this is Rick"

"Nice to meet you, Rick", The Brunette smiled as she gave as little wave.

"You too", Rick sent her a little nod, before stepping back to look at them both, "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, so let's go", Michonne answered quickly as she turned to Maggie, "Come by my house later, alright?"

"You know I will", Maggie snickered as she backed away, "Y'all have fun!"

"Bye!"

Rick eyed them both with narrowed eyes as he opened the passenger side door for Michonne, "Did I interrupt somethan'?"

"No. She just wanted to see my potential kidnapper", She joked, climbing in the vehicle.

He frowned at her, "Is that what I am?"

She shrugged, innocently, "If you are, then you're a pretty nice one for taking me to get something to eat first"

He smirked, shaking his head as he closed the door. She watched him walk back around the vehicle, wondering what she had let herself in for. The man was ruggedly handsome, with blue eyes that radiated warmth. She didn't need the distraction of a male when she was trying so hard to focus on her family, but she still found herself readily accepting his invite to lunch, and sitting in his vehicle twenty-four hours later.

"So, what are you in the mood for?", He glanced at her before turning out of the parking lot.

"I don't mind… breakfast food? Maybe?", She suggested, crossing her legs as she looked at him.

"That's fine by me. Do you have to get back to your son at a certain time?"

"Probably around five"

Rick scowled nodded as he peered out the windshield, "How old is he?"

"Two and a half", She answered proudly.

"That's a nice age. They adore you as much as you adore them"

"Not the same with an eleven year old?"

He sighed, "Depends on what side of the bed they wake up on. I think he just puts up with me now"

She sniggered at him, "Sorry to hear that"

"You'll know how it feels one day"

"I probably will. He's around my mom more so… I think he prefers her over me"

He snuck a glance at her again, "Yeah? That's great that he's close with her"

"It is…", She squinted out the window as they drove through the city, "So are you really kidnapping me? Because we just passed some really great diners?"

He chortled at her, "I'm taking you to my regular spot. I promise you, it's the best in Atlanta"

"That's a bold statement, especially to someone who eats as much as me"

"I can bet you that once you eat there, you won't want to go anywhere else", He insisted smoothly.

She side eyed him, "What are we betting then?"

He looked at her as he stopped at a red light, "If you like it then I get to take you there again"

She rose her eyebrows at him, "And if I don't?"

"Then… you get to take me to your favourite place"

She pursed her lips as she considered it, "Alright, fine"

"We have a deal then?"

"We do", She averted her gaze elsewhere, "Prepare to lose"

He chuckled as he began driving again, "We will see about that"

She rolled her eyes playfully, "So what made you want to get into bounty hunting?"

"I kinda fell into it. I always knew I wanted to be in law enforcement, so I started off as a deputy, but then I switched over after going with a friend a mine on a sting"

She leered at his mouth as he spoke, "It looks exciting"

"It is. I actually enjoy it", He peered out the rear view mirror for a moment, "So what about you? What… How'd you… how come you-"

"The money. I mean- I'm a good dancer too, which helps, but mainly the money", she responded flatly.

"How long have you been working there?"

"Eight months. They were looking for a waitress, but my boss told me I'd be better off dancing instead. I'd probably make even more if I actually stripped...", The car swerved slightly, causing Michonne to look at Rick with a raised brow.

"Sorry", He cleared his throat, "Some idiot… in the road"

She squinted at him.

"So it's a temporary thang then?"

"It is. As soon as I'm done with college", He turned into a small parking lot, next to an even smaller diner, leading Michonne to giggle, "This looks like a typical, 'movie-cop' hang out"

"Don't worry about how it looks on the outside, it's how the food makes you feel, that matters", He insisted with a crooked smile as he found a space.

"This should be interesting…"

They exited the vehicle once it was stationary, and Michonne followed Rick inside the compact establishment, angry at the fact that her mouth almost watered from the aroma.

They took a seat in the world's tiniest booth, and Michonne tried not to pay attention to the fact that her calf was pressed against his when she crossed her legs beneath the table.

"How are you, Rick?", A plump blonde woman asked, pulling a pen from behind her ear, "Who's this little button?"

"Hey Anna, this is Michonne. Michonne, this is Anna", Rick informed.

"Hey", Michonne smiled.

"Hey there. This is your first time here I take it?", The woman rested her hand on the table.

"It is, and she wants the breakfast special", Rick answered with a grin.

"Oh, is that right? Well we can cook that right up for you. What about you Grimes? Usual?"

"Yes, please"

"Alright then", The blonde turned around, "One big Mama's breakfast and one cop special sandwich!"

"Got it!", A man yelled from a little window behind the counter.

Michonne looked at Rick a furrowed brows, "A big Mama's breakfast, huh?"

"You'll thank me in a little while", He teased, resting his forearms on the table, "So what else is there to know about you?"

"...What else do you want to know?", She felt only a little nervous under his intense gaze.

"...Your son's father?"

She nodded, "He's around. We get a long"

"That's good. It's easy to get caught up with your problems with the other parent when you have a child…"

"That's true… but we were friends before my son… and after… we've always been friends"

Rick narrowed his eyes at her, "Oh?"

She rolled her eyes as she swiftly changed the subject from Mike, "So, uh, I take it you live around here?"

He perked up, "Yeah. A few blocks from here actually, but I'm originally from Kings County. You know it?"

"That's where Maggie grew up, I've been there a few times with her"

"Oh, yeah? What did you think of it?"

"It's nice. Really nice."

"Glad you liked it. Did she take you to Jenny's?"

She shook her head, "Nope"

"The best place to eat in Kings County"

She giggled at him, "Let me taste this first, then I'll know what your standards are like"

"Alright", He held his hands up, "That's fair"

Their meals arrived much sooner than Michonne expected, and she was only a little disappointed at the prospect of losing to Rick, as the food looked as delicious as it smelt. He watched her load up her first fork full, and she slowly slipped the pieces of sausage, bacon and eggs into her mouth.

She didn't mean to moan out loud, but there was an explosion of flavours in her mouth, "Oh my god-"

"What did I tell you?", He grinned at her.

"Fine, fine, I lost, you won. Let me enjoy this"

He laughed with glee as he called to the waitress, "I got you another regular, Anna!"

"Welcome to the club, button!", Anna raised a pot of coffee to Michonne.

Her lunch with Rick was an entertaining one, and she was pleased to learn that he was also a fan of satire, as well as her dry sense of humour. She tried to discreetly check her phone while they dined, not wanting to appear rude or uninterested, although she had noticed he did the same.

"So… did you have work today?", She asked before taking a sip of her water.

"This morning I did, and I will later", He replied, wiping his hands with a napkin, "I can't complain about me schedule. I get to sleep in 'cause I'm out all night"

"Sounds great. Your son must think you have a cool job?"

"I try not to tell him too much, I don't want him trying to copy me or somethan'...", Rick glanced out the window, "I'm trying to be more of a parent, less of a friend"

She tilted her head at him, "Really?"

"Yeah. I think me and his mother… we messed up when things started to go wrong in our marriage. We let him get away with a lot to compensate for our arguing. We're paying for it now though. He's only eleven but the boy talks like he's sixteen or somethan'..."

"I think a lot of parents have been in that position before. It's normal to spoil your kids to distract them from 'adult' problems…."

He smirked shyly, "Thanks for making me feel like less of an asshole"

"No problem", She snickered, "So you and your…. wife get along, too?"

His gaze hovered elsewhere for a moment, "Yeah. We do"

She noticed his strange reaction, "That's a good thing? Right?"

His steely blue gaze fell on her, "...It is… but… not always"

Her brows knitted together when she sensed a deeper meaning behind his words, so she chose to change the subject, "Alright… Well what else do you get up to? When you're not hiding out in strip clubs…"

He cringed, "I think my life's pretty boring otherwise. I spend too much time at the shooting range"

"So you shot the speaker out on purpose?", A smile spread across her lips as she teased him.

He bit back a chuckle, "That asshole jumped on me, and sadly the speaker caught the worst of our little scuffle"

"Is that something that happens often?"

"Half the time yeah. Sometimes they do what they're told without a problem… other times, they try to run"

"Every gone on a high speed chase?"

"I have, though that's somethan' we try to avoid. We don't like to draw too much attention to ourselves… it makes it easier to do our job when people don't know who's looking out for them"

She slowly nodded as she twirled her straw in her cup, "But you also hang out at a cop's diner?"

He chortled at her, "I'm not in uniform. I can just be a regular guy coming to get somethan' to eat with a beautiful girl?"

She was glad her dark skin hid the flow of blood that rushed to her cheeks, but she couldn't hide a bashful grin, "Smooth…"

"I'm just being honest", He gave her that crooked smile again, and she decided it was adorable.

She tore her gaze away from him, "I think I need to get back soon-"

"Oh, yeah, come on", He paid the bill, and they left the diner soon after.

Michonne was undeniably comfortable around him, and she enjoyed listening to the man talk. She had grown used to the southern accent, thanks to Maggie, but something about Rick's tone made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. His eyes had the same effect. When his gaze fell on her, and stayed there, she didn't know if she wanted to run away or mount him.

"So do you live with your mom? You said before that your son sees her a lot so I figured…"

"Yeah", She nodded, staring out the windshield, "I moved back in when I was pregnant"

"Right…", Rick ran a finger back and forth over his lip, "She seems really supportive? If you don't mind me asking, but how does she feel about you dancing?"

Michonne sighed, "She doesn't know. She thinks I'm just a waitress, and even then she still hates me working there"

He glanced at her, "Oh."

"Yeah…"

"Have you thought about telling her?"

"I have… I want to… but I just don't want to disappoint her. And I know lying to her all this time would disappoint her too but-"

"I get it. You're in a tough position, but from what you've told me about your mother, she doesn't seem unreasonable? She seems quite the opposite, honestly…"

"You think you could tell your mom such a thing?"

He scoffed, "There wouldn't be anythan' to tell in the first place, no one would ever hire me to dance, because I can't"

A chuckle burst from her lips, "Oh god, don't tell me you dance like a dad?"

"I danced like a dad before I even had my son", He smirked as he shook his head.

"I'll probably have to give you some lessons then"

"You wouldn't even want to do that. Plenty of people have tried, and I'm a lost cause"

"You just haven't had the right teacher", She didn't intend for the words to leave her mouth like a purr, but they did, and she didn't miss the way he snuck a peek at her.

"Well, maybe you're right"

She bit her lip as she averted her gaze to the street, "Uh… Just here, on the left"

Rick pulled up outside her apartment complex, his eyes slowly looking over the building, as he unfastened his seat belt, "This is a nice place"

"Thanks. It's small but, it's nice", She huffed, mimicking his actions, "But thanks for lunch… I enjoyed it"

He turned back to look at her, "Me too…"

She stilled when she noticed how his sentence seemed to drift off, his eyes roaming her face.

"I like what's happening here, and I'd like to take you out again if you'd let me"

Michonne took a moment to think of her reply, "Well I did lose the bet so..."

A small smile graced his lips, "I wanna know what you're thinking about this? Honestly?"

She tried not to shift uneasily, "This was nice. I liked it, too"

"Would you wanna see me again?"

She shifted, "I would…"

"Really?", There was a look in his eyes that she could only describe as apprehensive, as if he was riddled with uncertainty.

She nodded, "Yeah. I mean it"

He seemed to accept her answer, "I'm pleased to hear that. I just wanna be sure that I'm not barking up the wrong tree… I've been in a situation like that and- my point is, I'm certain that I like you and I want to get to know you more"

Michonne found his admission sweet, although, she had her own reservations. She was being truthful when she said she would like to see him again, but she knew realistically, he had popped up in her life at a bad time, "Uh, how about we meet up on Thursday? Before I go to work?"

"Yeah? That's fine by me."

"Just come here around six"

"Alright… Let me walk you to your door-"

Her hand clumsily found the handle as she exited the vehicle, "That's a sweet gesture but you don't have to, it's fine. Just be here on Thursday"

He watched her closely, "Thursday it is"

"Bye, Rick"

"Bye Michonne".


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Victor Morales. Wanted on a narcotics case. In his late thirties, has four kids by three women, who all hate him by the way, and apparently he's a real Mama's boy. Still lived with her and everything. Last time he was seen, was leaving the department a month ago. His kids mother's all deny speaking to him and his mother said the same"

Rick rolled his eyes up to look at Glen, "He's probably in contact with his mom, if he is a real Mama's boy"

"That's what I'm thinking", Shane agreed, sitting back in his seat, "If he's damn near forty years old and still living with her, I imagine she's probably looking after him, making his meals and all that mess… that's his 'go to' woman. Probably why all his kids' mothers hate him"

"We'll keep an eye on the mother's house… and maybe the kids mother's homes… it's an unlikely place for him to be and a good hideout if everyone thinks they hate him… one of 'em might have a soft spot for him still"

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?", Shane teased with a smile.

Rick rolled his eyes at him, _"Anyway-"_

"I think he's finally off Lori now, after paying that dancer three thousand dollars to basically see him again", Glenn mocked through a chuckle, "You literally could have just offered her five hundred dollars or something, but oh no, you took up a notch-"

"What did she look like? Did you see her dance? Can she do all those little tricks on the pole?", Shane sat forward again as he questioned Rick with as serious tone, "She must have friends that can do all those little tricks on the pole, right?"

"Remember that girl we saw in Vegas?!", Glenn tapped Shane's arm excitedly.

"Of course I do. She was a goddess. She climbed all the way to the top, and dropped down into split", Shane bit his lip as he reminisced, "I would have paid her three thousand dollars for doing nothing too. In fact, I probably would have paid every damn bill she had for the next six months to see her do that again"

Rick ignored his friend's laughter as took one last sip of his coffee and through the cup in the little waste basket behind him, before opening one of the doors to the back of the minivan, "Goodbye gentleman."

"We'll find out! You know we will!"

"You won't!", he snickered, slamming the door shut.

Rick proceeded to step out the alley and made his way across the street to his own vehicle, glancing at his watch in the process. He was undeniably tempted to call Michonne, just to see how she was doing, but as they had made plans for the following day, he didn't want to badger her. He was trying his best to take things one step at a time, but knowing that she wanted to see him again made him feel so good. He had gotten used to being wanted for only one thing by the woman he cared for, so to have stumbled into something completely different with Michonne had breathed life into him.

Once saturated in the driver's seat, he was about to slip the key in the ignition when his phone rang in his jeans pocket. He fished it out, expecting to see Glenn or Shane's name on the screen but it wasn't either of them, "Lori?"

"Hey…", The woman sounded down, "Are you busy?"

Rick squinted out the windshield, "I was actually about to head home… why? What's happened?"

She sighed, "I lost my job…"

"What?"

"I screwed up one of the orders."

"They fired you just because of that?"

"It's not the first time, Rick… I screwed up last month's orders too. I don't know what's wrong with me, I don't even remember doing it… but Dale said he couldn't risk a third time"

Rick ran his hand over his mouth, "I'm sorry to hear that. I am"

"Thanks… I could really use some company right now, Rick"

He froze, "Uh… Now's not really a good time Lori…"

"Why not? You said you were heading home?"

"I am. I need to get some rest… but I'll be by on Friday as usual… we have to talk about what you're gonna do next anyway"

"Alright. Fine. Friday it is"

Rick didn't know how he was going to break the news to Lori that he no longer wanted to take part in their arrangement, especially as she was upset about losing her job. He didn't want to kick her when she was down, and he knew that whenever she faced new obstacles she liked to have his help, which was something he was always more than willing to do. It dawned on him that he could no longer treat her as a wife, but purely as the mother of his child, if he was serious about moving on.

The next morning Rick was woken by the sound of thumping against his front door, causing him to jump out of bed with a growl. He marched through his home, ready to roar at his visitor, when he saw that it was his brother, "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Do you know what time it is?!"

"It's noon", Jeffery responded, slapping Rick's mail against his chest, "I don't care what you do, no one needs to sleep this late"

"Well I do", Rick closed the door after letting his brother stroll in, "And I should be able to sleep undisturbed, so what the hell do you want?"

"I was in the neighbourhood. Had to go check out a family a block from here so I thought I'd stop by and see how my little brother is keeping", Jeffery stopped in the middle of the large open plan room, "Well… at least It's tidy in here"

Rick rolled his eyes as he trudged over to the fridge and took out two bottles of waters, "How's dad?"

"Mean. Still"

"Great. Here", He threw the bottle to his brother and took a seat on the counter.

"How's Carl doing? I wanted to stop by the next time you had him. I picked up a few of those comics he liked when I was out of town"

"He's fine… I got him all weekend, I was going take him to that fair on Saturday"

"Yeah? Maybe I'll tag along. I don't really get up to much… how's his mother?"

"She lost her job"

"Oh yeah? She called you?"

"Yep."

Jeffrey took a seat on the barstool by the island, "So she needs to find another one. And quick. She has a boy to support, she can't just come running to you whenever somethan' don't look pretty"

"She'll get one. She only lost it yesterday"

"You got her that one! And the one before that!-"

"She's the mother of my child-"

"So you have to do _everythan'_ for her? Is that what you're saying?"

"Moving on", Rick ignored him, "I might need your help with somethan'... finding out about a few women you might have on your system"

"Yeah? What for?"

"Work. I'm looking for a guy, I need to know if he's hiding out with one of his kid's mother's house"

"I didn't get my job as child service inspector to help you-"

"And I didn't like having to beat up my big brothers bullies at school, but I did it, didn't I?", Rick tilted his head at him.

Jeffrey narrowed his eyes at his brother, "It was one time"

"Three times."

"I didn't ask for your help-"

"But you needed it. You needed it and I gave it to you for free"

"For free?! I've done so much for you in return that you probably owe me now!"

Rick hopped off the counter, "Yeah, yeah. Either way, I'd appreciate the information"

"I'll see what I can do"

"Thanks."

Rick didn't mind his brothers company, as they often got along, even if it appeared that they bickered a lot. However, his big brother was similar to his friends, and liked to give him his opinion about Lori whenever he had the chance.

His brother only hung around for a short while, leaving Rick to lounge around his home in peace for the rest of the afternoon. Being alone in his apartment used to be something he dreaded, as he missed picking up his son from school, and going home to have a snack together. He missed hearing laughter in his home, whether it was from Carl or Lori. It took a while for him finally adjust, but he still wished to have a busy household once again.

He left his home as evening approached, delighted for his short spell with Michonne before she went to work. Shane's words from the previous night swam through his mind, and he tried to save the imagery of Michonne dancing for later.

Outside the small apartment complex she shared with her mother, was a little curly haired boy, running across the lawn in only a pair of shorts, while an older woman chased him. Rick soon realised that they were probably Michonne's mother and son. He didn't want to appear rude sitting in his truck, so he climbed out and approached them cautiously.

"You're Michonne's mother?", He queried when he was close enough.

The woman scooped up her grandson and nodded, "I am. You must be Rick, huh? I'm Marie"

He was surprised, and secretly pleased, to know that she knew of him already, "I am. Nice to meet you, Marie"

"You too. This is Andre, my grandson", The toddler waved at Rick with one hand, while the other still clung to his grandmother's shirt.

"Hey there, Andre", Rick smiled waving back at the toddler.

"So you little bit older than the other students I've seen. What made you want to go back to college at this age?"

Rick stared at the woman, wondering what on earth she was talking about, when he soon realised that Michonne may have not told her mother the complete truth about him, "Uh… I just wanted a career change? Realised that… Psychology… was my calling?"

The woman slowly nodded, "Well, my daughters probably the best person to help you study, she made the Dean's list and everythan' so she'll probably be able to help you out with no problem"

"I believe so myself, mam-"

"Mom! What are you doing?", Michonne appeared, nearly sprinting towards them. She wore a large black sweatshirt with a pair of knee high white socks, sighing as she adjusted her backpack over her shoulder, "I gave him a bath earlier, he's going to catch a cold-"

"Oh, he's fine", Her mother waved her hand dismissively.

Michonne huffed before turning to Rick, "Hey, you ready?"

"Yeah. I'm all set"

"Alright, I'll call you when I'm on my way home, mom", She leaned forward and kissed the toddler on the cheek, "Bye, baby"

"Alright honey. Good luck, Rick!", Her mother snickered.

"I appreciate that mam. Bye Andre", Rick gave them both a wave as he backed up. He waited until he and Michonne were sat in his truck before clearing his throat, "Can I ask why your mother thinks I go to college with you?"

Michonne groaned as she put on her seatbelt, "She doesn't think I should be dating right now, and I get it. I have a very young child and I'm coming up to my last semester."

"Do you think I'd be some kind of distraction from that?", He quizzed, pulling out onto the street.

"Not necessarily… it's just another thing I'm hiding from her…"

"...Anythan' else?"

She narrowed her eyes while looking out the window, "A tattoo as well"

Rick's eyebrows sprung to life, "Oh?"

"Nothing scandalous. It's a little star on my back"

He slowly nodded, fighting to keep his concentration on road in front of him, and not the visuals fighting to cross his mind.

"So… same place as last time?"

"That was the deal, right?", He glanced over at her.

"Yep. I've been looking forward to it actually."

Rick immediately wore a taunting grin, "What did I tell you?"

She shook her head at him, though she still smiled, "You were right-"

"It's gonna be your new favourite spot"

"Just my luck that it's almost a mile away"

"Whenever you wanna go, just call me. I'll take you"

She bit her bottom lip, dropping her gaze to her hands on her lap, "You don't have to do that-"

"But I'd like to", He looked at her as they approached a red light.

She rolled her eyes up to meet his, "Fine."

He found himself unable to tear away from her gaze until a car honked behind him, leading him to mutter, "Shit"

A lovely little chime left Michonne as she giggled, and Rick tried his best to hold back a shy smile. He kept his eyes on the road for the remainder of the journey, and Rick would have been glad that they had arrived at the diner, so he could stare at her in peace, if it wasn't for the presence of Shane, Glenn and Daryl. While Shane and Glenn's eyes widened in surprise, Daryl kept his usual indifferent composure.

Rick ignored them, allowing Michonne to sit in the booth facing away from his comrades, "I'm probably going to have to warn you about somethan'..."

She frowned as she sat down, "What?"

"Three guys that I work with… that I'm sadly friends with as well… they're over there and I just wanna apologise in advance for their behaviour. You wouldn't believe that they're grown men", He sighed, resting his forearms on the table.

She began to smile as she looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, Glenn and Shane were staring right back at her, so she gave them a little wave, fluttering her fingers. Glenn waved back, while Shane gave her a nod of his head, "They seem nice"

"They're not. They're horrible people", Rick lied, leading Michonne to chuckle at him.

"My friends are exactly the same, so I can relate"

"Oh yeah, the one that wanted to check that I wasn't a kidnapper?"

"Yeah. She was pleased to learn that you weren't"

He smirked, "I'm glad I passed _that_ test then… your son's beautiful, by the way"

Her eyes lit up, "Thanks. He's pretty sweet when he's not trying eat his foot"

"I don't think they grow out of that for a while. Well boys don't anyway-"

"Well hey there Rick, and Rick's button", Anne smiled as she planted herself at the table, "What can I get y'all this evening?"

"Same as before?", Rick looked to Michonne with a raised eyebrow.

"...I can't really eat that much before work", She cringed, "Unless you're in the mood to share?"

Anne raised her eyebrows suggestively as the corner of her mouth turned up.

Rick ignored the woman's expression, "One breakfast special, and one lemonade and one ice water, please. Thank you"

"Coming right up", Anne spun around, "One big Mama's breakfast to share!"

"Got it!", Al' called from the back window.

Rick exhaled tiredly as he shook his head, "Everybody in here is a comedian"

Michonne seemed highly amused, "I like it. I like my new nickname too."

"Rick's button?", He repeated.

She covered her bashful smile with her hand, "Yeah. It's sweet"

"I think it is too", His fingers brushed hers as their hands rested beside each other on the table. He was so tempted to take her hand in his, and he nearly made the bold move when his phone rang in his pocket. He fought back a growl, pulling out the device to put it on silent when he saw Lori's name on the screen, "Sorry about this-"

"It's fine. Go ahead", She insisted lightly.

Rick considered answering the call, but decided against it, switching his phone to vibrate instead, "It probably wasn't important anyway… so, your mom said you're on the Dean's list?"

"Yeah. She was over the moon about it"

"I can imagine. What made you wanna study psychology?"

"I want to be a Forensic psychologist. I like the idea of being able to decipher a sociopath's mind and behavioural patterns"

"So you won't be done with studying for a while then?"

"Nope. Once I get this degree then I have to study for my masters…"

"Sounds like a lot", Rick felt his phone vibrating again in his pocket, causing him to growl out loud, "I'm sorry Michonne, can you give me a second?"

"Yeah. Go on"

He took out the device and answered it, "Yeah?"

"I've been trying to get a hold of you!", Lori hissed down the line.

"And here we go! One lemonade for Rick, and one glass of ice water for Rick's button", Anne announced, putting the glasses down on the table.

"Was that Anne? Are you at the diner?", His wife quizzed.

"What's going on?", Rick hurried, trying to stick to one topic at a time.

"We're in the ambulance heading to the hospital, Carl fell off his skateboard and he might have broken his arm", Lori hurriedly explained.

Rick sat up, alert, "Alright, I'll meet you there"

"Okay".

He hung up and looked to Michonne with great regret, "My son broke his arm. He's on his way to the hospital"

Her eyes widened, "Oh, well go on then-"

"Come on, I'll drop you home-"

"No, don't worry about it. And I'm closer to work from here anyway so it's fine-"

Rick didn't feel comfortable leaving her there to eat alone and then go to work by herself. His eyes darted behind her to his friends, and he had to think on his feet, "Shane!"

The other man looked over with a growing frown, "What?"

Rick waved him over.

"What are you doing?", Michonne narrowed her eyes at him, watching him rise from his seat.

"Just trying to sort somethan'-"

"Rick, you _don't_ have to do this-"

"I gotta get to the hospital, Carl broke his arm", Rick explained to his dark haired friend when he joined them at the table, "Michonne has work not far from here and I don't want her-"

"Got it. Go on, we'll look after her", Shane patted Rick on the back, "Send Carl my love"

"Thank you", Rick breathed a small sigh of relief before focusing on Michonne, "I'll call you later, alright?"

"Yeah. Okay", She nodded, sitting back in her seat.

Rick left the eatery immediately, hoping his son wasn't too hurt from his injury, and wishing the boy could have picked another day to break a limb.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Michonne twiddled her thumbs on her lap as she waited for her meal to arrive, surrounded by Rick's friends. They also looked around awkwardly, after initially introducing themselves. She still had two hours to go before she started work, but she could at least hang out in the dressing room when she did get to the club.

Shane cleared his throat, his eyes roaming her face carefully, "So…you live around here?"

"No, actually, I live on the other side of the city"

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh, yeah?... It's not too bad over there… pretty quiet… little residential areas…"

"Yeah", She nodded, keeping a friendly smile on her face although she hated small talk, "...Rick said you all work together?"

"Yeah. Well, Daryl here is a bail bondsman, but it don't change much"

"Oh?", She peered over at the quietest man, "So you pass on the 'no-shows' to them?"

He gave her a quick nod, "Yep."

"That's a good setup you have there", She smirked, "So who's the rebel of the group?"

Shane and Daryl furrowed their brows at her, while Glenn began to grin, "Daryl"

"...And the hot head?"

"Shane", Glenn nudged the man in question, leading Shane to roll his eyes at him.

"...The good guy?"

"Rick", He scoffed, as if the answer was obvious.

"...So then you're the comedian? The wise guy?", She looked at him with a highly amused expression.

"I guess I am, right?", He squinted at his friends.

Shane shrugged, "You've always just been a pain in the ass to me"

"I second that", Daryl piped up.

"Guess I'm not the only comedian", Glenn responded dryly, making Michonne chuckle at the three of them.

"Here you go, Button", Anne appeared, holding out a white paper bag to her.

"Oh, thank you", Michonne took her meal, placing it on the table before reaching underneath it to retrieve her backpack, only to gasp in horror, "I left my bag in Rick's car"

"Yeah?", Shane shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Glenn, pay Anne"

Glenn tried to hide his displeasure at being volunteered for the bill, but still fished out a small wad of crumpled bills and handing a few to Anne.

"Thank you so much", Michonne cringed, "But… I _really_ need my backpack…"

Shane waved his hand dismissively as her, "Don't worry about it, we'll go by the hospital and pick it up"

Michonne didn't miss the way Glenn and Daryl glanced at each other, and while it was a brief look of doubt they shared, she made sure to make a mental note of it for further analysis later.

She followed the three men out of the diner after saying goodbye to her new favourite waitress, Anne. Once in the parking lot, she discovered that Shane drove a black Jeep wrangler, which she decided was very fitting after having known him for mere minutes.

Glenn and Daryl dived in the back, allowing her to take the passenger seat. Shane only drove them out of the lot after sending Rick a text message, as the man was obviously too busy to answer his phone. She hated to have to interrupt him because of her forgetfulness, but her backpack also held her phone, purse and house keys, so she needed it regardless.

"We have a job tonight", Glenn announced, tapping away at his screen, "Whitehall is staying the Arizona hotel, just checked in under the alias Jim Holland. T-dog followed him there"

"Alright", Shane picked up speed, turning onto one of the side roads, "We're gonna have to move thangs along a little quicker"

Michonne discreetly held on to the door handle as Shane teetered on the edge of reckless driving. Daryl and Glenn seemed unfazed in the backseat, leading her to believe that this was usual practise for them.

They reached the hospital in record breaking time, and Shane swiftly pulled up near the front entrance, "He ain't text me back so your gonna have to go up there. Just go up to front desk and tell them you're looking for Carl Grimes, they'll point you in the right direction"

She nodded hurriedly as she almost shoved open the heavy door, "Alright. Got it"

The hospital was quiet, with only a few people scattered throughout, allowing Michonne to power walk down the hallway with ease, until it dawned on her that she might possibly see Rick's family, particularly his wife. She wondered if that was why Daryl and Glenn had shared an uneasy look.

"Hi", Michonne exhaled through her nose when she reached the desk, "I'm looking for Carl Grimes? He broke his… arm?"

The dark haired girl looked up at her, her brows knitting together for a second, "Yeah, he came in not too long ago. He's probably on the second floor… up the stairs, two lefts, then a right"

"Thanks".

Nervousness crept over Michonne as she ascended the stairs, hoping she wouldn't have to intrude on a private moment with his family. She had just stepped onto the ward when she heard footsteps racing up the staircase, and a panting Glenn approached her with a reddened face.

"Hey, how about I go… ask him… for your backpack?", He breathed, holding his hip as he winced.

She frowned at him, "I'm already here"

"I know, I know, but… Uh… it's… I'm here now, too", The man was obviously not disclosing the real reason he decided to come, which only fuelled Michonne's growing suspicions.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a time, "What's going on here?"

Glenn shook his head, "Nothing… nothing… I just thought-"

"I saw the way you and Daryl looked at each other when Shane said we'd come here, and all of a sudden you decide you'll come up and ask for my backpack for me?", She tilted her head at him, _"What_ is going on here?"

The man hesitated, looking to the left and right of him as he struggled to find the words, "Uh… Look… I… I don't think-"

Michonne spun on her heel and marched down the hallway.

"Okay! Okay! Wait!", Glenn urged, bursting into a little sprint to catch up to her, "We just thought it might be a little awkward, that's all"

"For who?", She quizzed, her feet still pounding the laminated floor.

"...You… him… his wife"

She came to an abrupt halt, "Why?"

Glen sneakers screeched as he stopped, "Uh… well… because we… just don't-"

Michonne's eyes widened as realisation struck her, "Is he still messing around with his wife? Are they still together or something?"

Glenn's eyes also widened, "No! No… it's just- Michonne, I really don't want to be the one to talk to you about this-"

"Oh my god", She growled, continued marching down the hall, "I'm an idiot. I'm such an idiot!"

"You're not! It's not like that- Can you slow down, please? And maybe calm down?"

She ignored Glenn as she followed the Secretary's instructions, turning left twice and then finally taking a right, all the while Glenn ran circles around her, trying to explain on behalf of his friend. Rick's behaviour towards her question about his wife suddenly made sense to her, and she felt a complete fool for even given the married man the time of day.

There were doors on either side of the hallway, and Michonne was prepared to look in the windows of everyone, when she learnt she didn't have to. The door nearest to them opened, and Rick stepped out, wearing a frown as he looked down at his phone, then an even more intense frown as he looked up, noticing a visibly annoyed Michonne and an apologetic looking Glenn.

"What's going-"

"I left my bag in your car", Michonne announced sternly.

His eyes did their best to read her, "Oh? Alright, we'll go-"

Michonne started back down the hall without another word. She wasn't going to bombard him with questions about what Glenn had told her, as that wasn't in her nature. Instead she closed up like a clam, shutting herself away from the source of hurt.

She had managed to make it to the staircase when Rick caught up with her, "Michonne, can you wait a minute-"

"No. I want my bag.", She responded, skipping down the steps.

"And you'll get it, but Glenn just told me what-"

She stopped, causing him to almost bump into her, "The quicker I can get my bag, the sooner you can get back to your family"

"Can you let me explain?"

"No!", She continued down the remaining steps and out into the front entrance. She would have walked right out into the parking lot if she had known where he parked his truck.

Rick took his opportunity to plant himself in front of her, "Can you calm down please?"

"I'm not angry, I'm annoyed", She took a small step back from him.

"Let me explain what that idiot friend of mine didn't, please?"

She stared at him with an expression that should have told him that she wasn't interested.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't, "Look, thangs between me and my wife have been a little… complicated for the last few months"

"So you thought you'd add me to the mix? Make it a lot more complicated?"

"No", He stated firmly, "That wasn't what I was

doing at all. Thangs changed when I met you-"

"But are they still the same for her?", She challenged, placing a hand on her hip.

Rick sighed, pinching his nose bridge before facing her again, "I haven't spoken to my wife about what's going on here yet. I haven't had the chance to"

Michonne groaned as she crossed her hands over her chest, "Where's your truck? I want my bag. Now."

He didn't move immediately, still looking at her with a level of intensity that made her feel uneasy. He finally tore his gaze away from her, and tipped his head in the other direction, "This way"

He led her across the parking lot, only a few rows away from Shane's Jeep. He opened the passenger and reached down for her pack, closing the door before turning around to hand it to her.

"Thanks", She went to step past him when he stuck his hand out in front of her.

"Michonne, I really like you, and I mean that. I wasn't trying to make thangs more complicated and I probably should have been more upfront about where I was coming from but I haven't tried- I planned on clearing everythan' up for you. I swear I did", His voice was low and husky, wrapped in sincerity.

But Michonne was still highly annoyed, and stubborn. She stepped even further out of his path, "Got it"

She didn't get the impression from Rick that he was a 'Ladies man'. Far from it. He had a gentlemanly way about him that she didn't stumble across often, and he seemed to speak purely from the heart. Glenn did say he was the 'Good guy', and his other two friends didn't rush to dispute that. He had done well to catch her attention, and she just wished he had come to her with a clean slate.

Shane did indeed drop her off at work, although they all sat in his car in a deafening silence. She thanked the man as she exited the vehicle, and bid the others farewell.

She used the back entrance of the club to get in, as leading up to the weekend were the busiest days. She slipped past the stage and through a side door that led to the locker room. Most of the dancers hid in there throughout the night when it wasn't busy, but when there were more customers around they would have to take to the floor.

It was one of the many things she hated about her job, next to private dances. It was easier for her to make little to no eye contact with the men, unless Carol was around. The woman wasn't strict, but she advised the women to 'lay it on thick' and to be heavily affectionate, but only while touching the men on the shoulder or their arms. Michonne did neither.

She sat on the floor in front of her locker, picking at her food from the diner when a dancer she was friendly with strolled in, "Hey, Paula"

"Ugh, hey", The redhead grunted, pulling off her seven inch heels as soon as she sat on the bench, "You just get in?"

"Yeah… Carol hasn't seen me yet"

Paula smirked, "She'll be in here in a little while. You know she doesn't like us hiding out in here"

"I know"

The woman began plucking the bills from her G-string, "Rough day?"

"Yeah. Not in the mood for a six hour shift"

"Neither am I, but these guys are throwing out 'twenties' and not 'ones' so you better get out there"

"Really?", Michonne looked at the bills in Paula's bikini top, "Nice"

"Right?! But they're also trying to ignore the 'no touching' rule. One prick got thrown out for grabbing Joan's ass when she was at the bar"

Michonne groaned for a countless time that evening, "Great"

Paula laid back on the bench, tilting her head to face Michonne, "What's that?"

"Breakfast"

"It smells great"

She took the not so subtle hint, giving the forkful of food meant for herself to the woman.

"Mmm!", Paula moaned, rolling onto her stomach, "Where's that from?"

"A cop diner downtown"

"You hang out with cops now?", Paula snickered, her mouth opening for another sample.

She sighed, stabbing her fork into the sausage, "Something like that-"

"God! Some drunk idiot spilt his drink on me!", Donna growled as she burst through the door, her white outfit stained.

"Oh dear", Paula remarked, "I told you not to sit next to him-"

"I thought he was fine at first! Then he started swaying and now look! I only brought this because I stayed at my boyfriend's last night", Donna began to pull the skimpy dress over her head.

"Ask Joan to borrow something of hers. She always brings more than one"

"Really? I'm going to need to… what's that?", Donna stopped and looked down at Michonne, "It smells good"

"Cop food", Paula answered, waiting for Michonne to feed her again.

"Cop food?"

"It's from a diner where all these cops hang out", Michonne explained.

"Oh nice! You're dating a cop now? It's about time you got out there"

"No it's not-"

"Yeah! When's the last time you even had sex? When Andre was conceived?"

Michonne knew the dancer was joking, but she still blushed as she bowed her head.

Both Donna and Paula looked at her with wide eyes, "Seriously?! That long?!"

She shrugged, "I've been busy…"

"God, I bet you have a few cobwebs down there", Paula teased, tickling Michonne's knee.

She hated the fact that she laughed, "I do not!"

"I don't even think I could last a month, let alone years!", Donna insisted, taking a seat on the bench, "Who's the cop? Is he hot?"

Michonne remembered what Rick had said about keeping a low profile, so she decided to go along with the idea that he was a police officer, "Yeah. He's nice"

"They usually are. Remember that one I dated a year ago? Tyrese? He was such a sweetie", Donna swooned, resting her hand on her chest.

"What happened to him?"

The woman scowled, "He joined the army. He wanted me to relocate with him but I didn't want to leave ma' and my abuela so…"

"Aw. That's sad", Paula pouted as she chewed.

The door swung open and Carol appeared, sighing when she caught site of Michonne, "What is it with you? You're either an hour late or an hour early!"

"Sorry", She responded with a blank expression.

"I'll make a deal with you, get dressed and get to work now and you can go early", Carol raised her eyebrows at her as she rested a well-manicured hand on her hip.

Michonne didn't need to be asked twice, "Deal"

"Good, now hurry up".

She handed the rest of her food to Paula before standing up to change. Most her outfits were skin tight cat suits, as she wasn't completely comfortable dancing half naked. It was a wonder that she got any customers at all. Paula was always one of the most confident dancers, more than happy to go nude, and Michonne had learned that it was just in her nature.

With her makeup done and her heels on, Michonne left the locker room and worked the floor, smiling and flirting her way through the club. The music was loud and the men were mesmerised by the women around them. When she couldn't hide in the dressing room, she would seek refuge in one of the private rooms on the floor above, and wait for Carol to send someone up. She wouldn't be so lucky just yet, as the older woman was in her element, swanning around the club, making sure that the men were either putting money in the dancer's hands or the bartenders, or even better, her own.

As the end of her shift approached, Michonne was sat in her private room, counting her earnings for the night. She was tired, her feet hurt, and she was hoping to catch a taxi cab straight home as soon as she left the club.

"I'm sending one up, Frost", Carol called through the intercom.

Michonne hopped up and pressed the little red button on the device, "Alright."

She shoved the bills into a cash box and locked it, placing it back on top of the speaker on the wall. She only had a minute to check her makeup in the mirror before she heard a knock on the door, so she stepped over and opened it with a smile, which quickly vanished when she saw Rick standing there.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Rick wasn't entirely sure what his plan was, but he knew he needed to speak to Michonne and explain his predicament better. She had caught him off guard the earlier in the evening, and he never expected her to find out about his sticky situation with Lori through Glenn. His friend was another person he planned to speak to, although, he wouldn't be as nice as he would to Michonne.

He stood up straight, lifting his cap a little, "You okay?"

"Fine.", She answered flatly.

"...I wanted to talk to you about… everythan'?"

She stared at him, for what felt like an eternity, before stepping back in the room and allowing him in. He followed her, closing the door with his foot once he was inside. She planted herself in the middle of the small room, crossing her arms over her chest as she eyed him.

He exhaled slowly, ready to bare all, "For the last few months, I've been sleeping with my wife. That's all it's been, just… that. At first, I was hoping we'd get back together, and that's what I thought it was leading too, but… she didn't feel the same. I went along with it because...I don't know, maybe because I'm an idiot that was hoping she'd change her mind"

Her gaze dropped to the ground as she looked at her heels.

"I told you when I met you, it changed everythan'... You did… I think you're beautiful and you're funny… I think I could talk to you all day of you let me…"

She bit her lip, allowing her gaze to meet his again.

"Nothing's happened between me and my wife since our first date. I've been meaning to tell her that I don't want things to continue, but it's just never seemed like a good time, but I swear I have. I honestly just want to get to know you more, and that's it. Nothing else"

Michonne seemed to mull over his confession, shifting from foot to foot, "So that's it? You've met me and all of a sudden you don't have feelings for your wife?"

He inhaled sharply, "I wouldn't say that. I would say meeting you has shown me that… what I was doing with her wasn't working. It was one sided and it wasn't nice. It's not what I wanted at all-"

"And what if she changes her mind? What if she decides she does want to try again?"

His brows knitted together, "I think it's all a little too late for that"

He was sure he noticed her expression soften, her shoulders falling to a more relaxed position, "You have to talk to her"

His heart nearly jumped for joy that she didn't dismiss him, "I will. I swear I will."

"Even if it was just sex… you should tell her-"

"I promise", He nodded, stepping closer to her.

"Good", She still looked dubious of him, but he couldn't blame her, "How was your son?"

"Uh, well he's at home now, his arms broken but he doesn't… he doesn't really care. He can still text with one hand so…"

She began to smile, and he finally felt relieved, "Nice".

"...Are you almost finished for today?"

She tipped her head towards the clock on the wall, "Still have twenty minutes left"

"Oh…", He slowly nodded, his eyes trailing around the room, "Busy night?"

"Yeah. Very…", She moved her hands to her hips, "I guess you can hang out here… you've already paid Carol so she won't care"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. And plus, if you're here then she won't send anyone else up"

Rick liked the sound of that, "Alright then"

The corner of her lips curled up in disbelief, "...This is the second time you've paid me to dance…"

His eyebrows sprung up, "I guess it is"

She rolled her eyes as she turned around, "You might as well take a seat"

His eyes widened, "What?"

"Just take a seat"

"Michonne you really don't have to-"

"I know I don't", She smirked, flicking through the music on her iPod.

He stepped cautiously toward the love seat, feeling overwhelmed, "You don't- I really don't-"

"Just sit back", She sighed, turning the volume up.

Rick's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest as he watched her strut towards him. He had never been on the receiving end of a lap dance, and he didn't know what to do or where to look, until she turned around and began swaying her hips, and his gaze locked on her ass. She moved so sensually, her hands sweeping up the sides of her lean body as she lowered herself onto his lap. She slid back, so her hips were parallel to his, her ass sitting comfortably on his groin. With both of her hands resting on his knees, she began to roll her waist, back and forth, grinding on his manhood. Rick's mouth fell open as me recorded every move she made in his mind.

He balled his fists when she sat back, her back against his chest as she continued to fuel the fire that burned within him. He had wanted to touch her previously, but no more than he did in that moment, and when one her hands reached up and cupped the side of his face, he took the plunge.

He placed both hands on her hips, waiting a moment to see her reaction, and when she didn't object, he began to move his fingers in circular motions, massaging her gently. Her breath hitched, and her actions became more pronounced, her ass pressing against his hardened length.

Rick felt as if he was in a trance. He could smell the remnants of her perfume on her neck, leading him to brush list lips against the skin. The lightest, most delicate moan escaped her, urging him to press his cool lips on her shoulder. He wanted to taste her, to run his tongue along her dark, glowing skin, trickled in glitter, so he did just that, lapping her skin into his mouth and sucking on it for only a second. Her head rolled back, exposing more of her neck to him, and he latched on without hesitation.

He never knew he could be so bold, but Michonne was quickly becoming the woman of his dreams. One of his hands crept from her hip to her navel, before diving down between her legs. The moan that left her when he began to rub his hand against her crotch was phenomenal. Heat radiated from her as he played with her folds through the thin, damp material. He cursed her choice of outfit, wishing he had easier access to her, so he did the unthinkable. He pulled the fabric away from her body, digging his nails into it until he felt it tear. He almost jumped for joy for a second time in less than an hour.

Once he had her panties to the side, his fingers trailed up and down her slit, making her back arch with delight. She was warm, wet and hairless, and he found her bundle of nerves with ease.

"Fuck!", She breathed, biting her lip as she grabbed hold of his wrist, "Oh, God!"

He still kissed and bit into her neck with numb lips, his only concern was pleasing her.

"Condom?"

He knew he heard what she said, but he still had to look at her with a raised brow, "Yeah?"

"Yeah", She moaned, tipping her head back and catching his lips with hers.

He held her tighter as they shared a passionate kiss, his tongue forcing itself in her mouth with urgency, his member aching in his jeans, desperate to greet Michonne personally.

She broke the kiss, and scooted off his lap, "Just open your fly"

Rick did as he was told with no complaint, popping open his button and pulling his zipper down.

"Condom?", She repeated.

"Yeah", He fished out his wallet from his back pocket and retrieved the little black wrapper.

Michonne took to investigating the new opening in her cat suit, while Rick prepared himself, "Well… at least it's not really obvious… I think"

"Sorry…", He cringed, rolling the Condom down his erection.

"It's okay", She giggled, shaking her head, "You've made this easier"

A shy grin appeared on his face as he watched her stand back up again, "Face me"

"...Alright", She turned around and kneeled on the loveseat, straddling him.

He pulled his cap off and threw it away from him before taking hold of her hips, "Slowly"

She aligned them, placing his tip at her entrance, then slowly impaling herself with his length. A guttural growl left Rick as her warmth enveloped him, her walls clinging to his shaft. Both of her hands sat at the base of his neck when he filled her, her body tensing with every little movement she made.

"You alright?", He rasped quietly, his eyes scanning her face.

She nodded as she swallowed, "Yeah, fine, just give me a second"

"Come here", He almost whispered, pulling her closer to him and pressing his lips against hers.

He decided that kissing Michonne was his new favourite thing to do. Her lips were so soft and full, encouraging Rick to take them between his teeth to suck on them tenderly. She finally began to move with him inside her, rolling her hips like she had done before, but this time Rick felt a whole new sensation. It was euphoric, every stroke leaving him hungry for another.

It would be a lie if he said he didn't enjoy sex with Lori, because he had done, but Michonne captured him in a way that he didn't even know was possible. She was intoxicating him in every sense of the word, and he would do nothing to stop her.

When she picked up the pace, bouncing on his lap with purpose, Rick became greedy, grabbing a handful of her ass and watching her with hooded, lust filled eyes. He wanted to witness her body in all its bare glory, but he couldn't do anymore damage to her outfit. She clung to him, her breath tickling his ear as she panted the occasional curse word. A stirring in his loins told him that his release was pending and he wasn't sure how long he would last, but when the door opened and Carol stepped into sight, Rick realised he wouldn't be cumming any time soon.

"Oh my god! What the _hell_ Michonne!", the silver haired woman yelled, wearing a mortified expression.

Michonne jumped off Rick in a flash, gasping in horror, while he tried his best to tuck his still erect penis away.

"Are fucking nuts?! Do you realise what the hell you're doing?!", Carol's eyes bulged as she yelled.

"I'm so sorry!", Michonne grovelled, "I just- It was- I didn't- We were-"

"Get dressed, and meet me in my office!"

"Okay! I will"

Carol gave Rick a pointed look before spinning on her clear heels and stomping out the room, slamming the door behind her. Rick and Michonne both sat in silence for a time, trying to catch themselves as they absorbed what had just happened.

"...Uh", He huffed, looking over at her, "Should I… I'll wait for you outside… I'll drop you home"

All Michonne did was sigh as she stood up, adjusting herself, before stepping over to the music player. She turned it off, ripping her iPod free, then turning to a speaker and retrieving a red box from on top of it.

"...You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just… an idiot", She groaned, taking one last look in the mirror, "Let's go".

They left the private room, and Rick pulled his hat down as low as possible as he exited the building. He stood by his truck as he waited for her, hoping she wouldn't get into too much trouble. As guiltily as he felt for her, he was positively glowing from their moment together. It was burned into his memory, replaying over and over again. He wasn't even upset that they didn't get to finish.

Michonne finally appeared, having changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He could tell from her expression that her talk hadn't gone well, and his guilt grew.

"What happened?"

"She fired me", She responded flatly, looking down the street.

Rick ran a hand over his face as he inhaled, "I'm sorry. I really am"

She gave him a half-hearted shrug, "It's… whatever"

"Come on, let's get you home".

The drive to her home was a silent one, although they held hands for most of the journey. He was sure she was mad at herself for losing her job because she had a son to support, and he hoped she wouldn't run into financial trouble as a coincidence.

They shared a short, but sweet kiss before she exited the vehicle, and he watched her go into her apartment before making his way to his own home. It was when he was yawning at a red light that his phone rang, and he knew who it was before even looking at the screen, "What's going on?"

"Hey", Lori chirped, "You up?"

"Yeah… Just heading home, hold on", He put the phone on his dashboard, "You're on speaker… I'm driving"

"Okay… well, do you want to come over?"

He cringed, "We need to talk, Lori"

She was silent for the briefest moment, "What about?"

"Us. We need to talk about us"

"Oh my god, Rick", She sighed down the phone, "We've talked about this so many times and I thought we agreed that we don't _work_ as anything else-"

"I've met someone, Lori. I'm seeing someone."

She was silent a second time, but for a longer spell, "You met someone? As in your dating someone now?"

"...I am"

"Well… where did this come from? I thought we were- you never said you wanted to start seeing other people"

"I wasn't planning to. It's just happened-"

"Is that who you were with earlier? At the diner?"

He had avoided that question when he saw his wife at the hospital, "...Yeah. It was"

"Who is she? Do I know her? Is she from around here?"

"You don't know her", He answered vaguely.

"So how long has this been going on? Where you seeing her while we were-"

"No. We've only been on a few dates…"

Lori scoffed, "So you've been on a few dates and that's it? You've decided that you're going to throw me aside to be with her?"

He frowned at the windshield, "Throw you aside? Lori, you were just saying that 'we don't work as anything else' but having sex-"

"We don't. I know we don't, but I'd think that you'd have a little more respect for me as your wife-"

"How about having respect for me? You knew I wanted to work thangs out, you've always known that, but you've only ever cared about getting one thang from me-"

"I didn't want us to rush to get back together, Rick. We needed space from each other-"

"We needed space? Then why were we still having sex, if that's the case?"

"I still love you, Rick! You know I do, I've never denied that!"

"You just didn't want to be with me", He rolled his eyes as he pulled up outside his apartment complex.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt us, what we have-"

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore, Lori"

She stuttered as she struggled to find the words, "Can we just slow down a minute here? I feel like this has just came out of nowhere- what is actually doing on? Are you doing this to get my attention? To teach me a lesson or something?"

His face pinched with confusion, "Am I moving on to teach you a lesson?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"No, Lori. I'm moving on because I've met someone."

"Does she know what was going on between us? That you were still sleeping with your wife only a week ago?"

"She knows."

"And she's okay with that?"

"No, she wasn't okay with it, but that-"

"Oh! So you're doing thing this because of _her?"_

Rick's grip tightened on the steering wheel, "Lori, you need to stop what you're doing. You know what's been going on between the two of us, and that worked for you, it didn't work for me. That little arrangement only benefited you, and it was nothing but torture for me. Now I've met someone… someone who I can offer more than just that too, someone who actually might want more than just sex from me, and I've decided that that's the way I want to go. I have a right to do that, and you can't make me feel like I've wronged you in this, because I haven't."

His wife was silent for a third time before huffing, "Rick, I get it. I know you. I think I know you better than anyone else. You have so much love to give, and when you care, you care to the ends of the earth, and that's something that's been too much for me to handle over these past few months. It's not because I don't want to be with you, it's because I've been trying to figure out what I really want… I never meant to hurt you, or make you feel like you're being tortured... that's why I didn't want us to try and force anything…"

Rick took the keys out the ignition as he sat back and listened to her.

"...I don't know where I'd be without you because you mean so much to me. You really do. I've always thought that our family would become whole again but, I just… I just need a little more time to- to come to terms with what I really want in this life, Rick. That's all I'm asking from you…"

He furrowed his brow at the phone, "You want time?"

"Yes. Just give me a little more time and… and we can try again. We can be a family again… just please, don't do this to me, Rick. Don't… don't push us even further away from each other like this…"

He pinched his nose bridge between his thumb and his finger as he bowed his head.

"Please?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"Where's my little peanut?", Maggie smiled, tip toeing over to the couch, "Oh! He's sleeping! Can I wake him?"

Once her mother left for work, Michonne sat in front of the TV, looking a jobs on her computer while Andre took a nap beside her. It was only a short time into her search that her friend stopped by to visit.

"I'd kill you if you did", Michonne smirked, taking a seat opposite her.

"Aw, look at him", Maggie pouted, smoothing the boy's dark curls away from his face.

"He'll probably be up soon, so the two of you can run rampant in a little while. How was work?"

"Boring. I've made so many cups of coffee that I could probably do it blindfolded with one hand"

"...We should test that theory one day"

Maggie chuckled quietly, "We should, right? I bet I can"

"You probably can"

"I thought I saw a cute guy today but he left before I could see his damn face properly"

"What a shame", Michonne pouted, "We need to find you a nice guy-"

"Oh, please. He just needs to know how to work a tractor and milk a cow, and I'll be happy"

Michonne sniggered at her, "That's all it takes, huh?"

"To get me, that's all. I don't like these fancy, city boys. They want to show off too much. I just want someone who can throw on an old t-shirt and pull some weeds out in the back-"

"Metaphorically or…"

"Take your mind out the gutter", Maggie gave her a pointed look, "You've been spending too much time with that Paula girl"

"I have… but not anymore"

"Huh? What's that mean?", Maggie sat back with a huff.

"I got fired"

Maggie sat up straight again, "What? Why?"

Michonne cringed, "Carol caught me… with Rick…"

Maggie's green eyes grew wide, "What? Caught you doing what? Start from the beginning!"

She inhaled slowly, "He came over to the club to talk… paid to see me, obviously, so I thought… I might as well give him a dance… and so I did, but it wasn't my usual routine… and one thing led to another and Carol walked in on us… going at it"

Maggie's jaw hung open in shock, "We're you naked or-"

"No! No… we were clothed but… you couldn't really mistake what was going on for something else…"

"Oh my god! So what did she say?"

"She was like ' _You don't fuck the customers_! _This isn't a brothel_!'...", Michonne sighed, "She was really pissed off, so I want to go back and apologise to her properly"

Maggie gave her a sympathetic look, "...So the two of you are getting on well, huh? I mean… _Really_ well"

Michonne couldn't fight the shy smile that spread across her lips. She'd find herself thinking about their rendezvous when they were alone, and she'd feel a flutter in her stomach when she remembered how he held her, or how his lips devoured her neck. She didn't intend to have sex with him the first time they touched but she didn't regret it, even if I did result in her losing her job. It was becoming apparent to her that she was utterly besotted with him, "Yeah."

"Doesn't he have a son? He's not like Mike, is he?"

"No", Michonne shook her head, "I don't think so"

"Where the hell is Mike anyway?"

She shrugged, "Probably at rehearsals or something…"

"He should get a job. One that pays, so he can help with Andre. I think I've bought Andre more toys than he has-"

"You and my mom need to get together soon and have this discussion", Michonne snickered.

"It's true! He doesn't do anythan' besides babysit him every few weeks", Maggie fumed, looking at the toddler beside her.

"He said he wants to help out more...so I have to give him a chance…", Michonne looked around the room doubtfully, "I'll see how it goes…"

"Yeah…", Maggie rolled her eyes, "You feel like going out today? I saw a fair on my way up here, we can take this one when he wakes up?"

She glanced at the clock over god mantle, "Uh, depends when he wakes-"

"Hey there, sleepy head! Aunt Maggie missed you!", Maggie cooed, scooping Andre off the chair as he sat up.

"Looks like we're going then"

Besides Andre and his Grandmother's relationship, Michonne admired Andre's and Maggie's. Her friend had been very supportive throughout her pregnancy, and was another person who fell in love with the little boy when he arrived. While Michonne didn't have many people around her, she was filled with gratitude for the few she did have.

After feeding and dressing Andre, the three of them set off in Maggie's truck to the fair. It was a bright, sunny day, the type of days Michonne enjoyed when she wasn't hidden away studying.

"He can go on a ride now, right?", Maggie quizzed, holding the toddler in her arms.

"I think so. Something slow, though… and not too high", Michonne squinted through the crowds.

"How about that one! The little tractors! I need to prepare him to work on the farm with me", Maggie grinned, tickling his stomach.

Michonne chuckled at her, "Oh yeah, perfect. You go on with him so I can take pictures"

"Alright"

They made their way over to the small carnival ride, where six brightly coloured tractors moved around in a circle at a snail's pace. Michonne watched Maggie hope on a green tractor with Andre sat in front of her, the little boy looking around excitedly. Michonne retrieved her phone after paying for them, and she soon began snapping pictures of the duo. She had only taken a few when her phone rang in her hand, and Mike's name appeared.

"Hey", She answered.

"Hey, how are you doing?", He queried with a light tone.

"Good. You?"

"Yeah, I'm good. How's Andre?... are you out?"

"Yeah, we're at the fair"

"Oh, yeah? The one by Wysall avenue?"

"That's the one", She waved at her son as they passed her a third time.

"You just get there?"

"Yeah, a little while ago"

"I can come meet you there? I'm only a few blocks away"

She nodded as if he could see her, "Yeah, alright. Give me and call when you get here"

"Alright, bye"

It was Michonne's turn to take her son on a ride next, and she decided to go on her all-time favourite, the carousel. She took Andre from Maggie and climbed on a the white horse. The toddler clung to the gold bar while Michonne wrapped her arms around him.

"Pony!", He cheered, tilting his head back to look at her.

"Yeah! Well, it's a horse but, we'll call it a pony", She smiled, kissing him on his forehead, "Now Where's aunt Maggie?"

Andre began to look around as the ride moved, trying to point out his mother's friend. When they finally saw her, he pointed, "Aggie!"

"Good boy!", Michonne chimed proudly.

She lavished him with cuddles and kisses as they rode the horse, glad she agreed to take him out for the day. She decided that the plus side to not having a job meant that she had an opportunity to spend even more time with him until she found a new one.

It was on the final lap that she noticed Maggie talking to someone, and it took only a second for her to see it was Rick. Her heart skipped with excitement as she climbed off the horse with Andre.

She was used to seeing the man in dark clothing; black jeans, black t-shirt and a black baseball cap, but on that day he wore a denim shirt with light blue jeans and no cap at all. If someone had told her he could be even more appealing than he already was to her, then she would have thought it impossible.

"Look _who_ I bumped into", Maggie grinned, tipping her head towards Rick.

"Hey", His steely blue gaze fell on Michonne and her son, "Hey there, buddy"

Andre waved, and Michonne didn't miss how the toddler clung to her with his other hand, "Hey, you here with your son?"

"Yeah, and my brother, there over there on the Ferris wheel", He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, "He can't really go on much with his arm in a sling but he's more interested in eating anyway"

She chuckled at him, "There's nothing better than carnival food"

"I actually wanted to take Andre on the Ferris wheel", Maggie lied, holding her hands out for the toddler, "So we might as well head over there"

Michonne allowed her to take Andre as she side eyed her friend, "Alright"

The four of them walked over to the large wheel, and Michonne was able to spot Rick's brother and son with ease, as the three of them had striking similarities. His son and his brother stepped off the ride, while Maggie and Andre stepped on, and Michonne tried not to fidget at the prospect of meeting Rick's family.

"Carl, Jeffrey, this is Michonne", Rick introduced, "My friend from…"

"Work", She finished for him with a warm smile, "Hey"

Jeffrey held out his hand, "Nice to meet you"

"You too", She shook his hand large hand.

"Hey", Carl flashed her a quick smile, his eyes darting all over her.

"Hey", She felt more nervous greeting the young boy more than anything, "What happened to your arm?"

"Skateboarding", Carl gave a little shrug as he looked at his cast.

She grinned at him, "That's how I broke my ankle, and my wrist"

"Really?", Carl looked back at her with a frown, "Can you do any tricks?"

"Well it's been a long time since I've tried, but I was pretty good", She used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Can you do a kick flip?"

"That's how I broke my wrist, but I got it down, eventually"

"See, dad", Carl turned to his father, "I told you it's normal"

Rick raised his eyebrows at him, "Yeah, breaking bones is normal. Got it"

Michonne bit back a chuckle, "Well don't let me keep you guys-"

Her sentence came to an abrupt halt when she was able to distinct her son's cry from the other background noise. Maggie was stepping out the carriage of the Ferris wheel with the crying toddler, giving Michonne an apologetic look, "I guess he wasn't into that one"

She held her hands out for him, "Oh dear, too high?"

Andre had tears rolling down his cheeks as he reached for his mother, "No!"

"Okay, no heights, got it", She chortled, taking him in her arms, "Sorry baby"

"I feel his pain", Jeffrey chuckled, nudging Rick.

The other man glanced behind him, "Does he like turtles?"

Michonne frowned at Rick for a moment, before spotting the giant stuffed toys at the stall a few feet away from them, "Uh...Maybe?"

"Carl's good at that game, ain't you son?"

The boy nodded shyly, shifting from foot to foot, "A little…"

"Nonsense. You can do it, come on"

Michonne glanced at Maggie, who wore a large, almost goofy smile as she followed them, "Well, ain't this cosy-"

"Stop it", Michonne hissed back, rubbing her sons back as he began to calm, still whimpering as he clung to her, "Mike's meant to be coming to meet us"

Maggie's face pinched with annoyance, "Oh, great"

They walked the short distance to the stall, where Carl took a seat and held the water gun with his good hand, while his father paid for his turn. Michonne wondered how good the boy would be with only one hand, but she was impressed to see that Carl had no problem filling the balloon with water to win her son a soft toy. Carl appeared bashful about his win, his cheeks growing red when everyone congratulated him, which Michonne found adorable.

"Alright, which one do you want buddy?", Rick asked Andre, tilting his head to see the toddler.

Andre looked to his mother and Michonne pointed to the top of the stall, "Which one, baby?"

The little boy looked up, and mimicked his mother, but due to his tiny stature, it was impossible to tell which one he was indeed pointing at.

"How about I give you a little hand?", Rick held out his hands for Andre, and Michonne allowed him to take him from her. He lifted the boy above his head, "Which one?"

A small smile grew on Andre's face as he pointed at the bright green turtle.

"Can we get a turtle please?", Jeffrey called to the man running the stall.

"I guess you don't mind being a little high up", Rick grinned at Andre as he brought him back down, "We're gonna have to thank Carl for this, can you say thank you?"

"Than-Koo", Andre repeated, though his attentions stayed on the turtles above him.

Maggie nudged Michonne discreetly, and she bit her cheek to stop herself smiling like a fool. Jeffrey handed Rick the turtle, and he passed it on to Andre, who happily wrapped his arms around the toys neck. Michonne found herself gazing at the scene in front of her, feeling a mixture of adoration and great uncertainty. While Rick hadn't worn his wedding ring again since the first time she saw him, she was still doubtful about what she was letting herself in for.

Her phone rang in her hand and she turned away from everyone as she answered it, "Hey Mike"

"Hey, I'm here, where are you?", She could hear a familiar noise in Mike's background.

"Uh… I'll come meet you-"

"Oh wait, I think I can see you, by near the Ferris wheel right?"

Michonne's eyes scanned the crowd around her as she searched for him, "Uh, yeah-"

"...Who's that holding my son?"

"Mommy!", Andre called, leading Michonne to turn back to face him.

Rick stepped closer to her with a warm smile, "I think he's done with me now"

Between Mike quizzing her on the phone, and Rick stood in front of her holding her son, Michonne almost wished she could hide behind Maggie, Jeffrey and Carl, who were back playing another round at the stall. The phone line went dead and she moved it from her ear, dreading the awkward situation that was about to unfold.

"You alright?", Rick asked with a hint of concern.

"Andre's dad's coming", She blurted out, hoping that was all she needed to say for him to understand.

He slowly nodded, "Oh, right"

It was only a few seconds later the Mike appeared, wearing a slight annoyed expression as he stared down the man who held Andre.

Rick followed Michonne's line of sight, and he only looked at Mike for the briefest moment, before give Andre a wide smile, "You ready to go back to your mama now?"

Andre nodded, pointing to Michonne as if Rick needed help finding her, leading Rick to chuckle.

"I'll take him", Mike insisted with a hollow tone, holding his hands out for the toddler. Rick tilted his head slightly to glance at the boy's father, before looking back at Michonne. She gave him a little nod to signal that it was fine, and so Rick handed Andre over to his father.

"Hey son", Mike smiled at him, handing him a small piece of chocolate.

"Say goodbye, Andre", Michonne prompted, before Mike could walk off with him, and the little boy waved to Rick with one hand, while the other still held the turtle's neck.

"Bye", Rick waved back, then lowered his voice as he spoke to Michonne, "Everythan' all right there?"

"Yeah…", She sighed, watching Mike take Andre over to another stall, "Fine"

"Does he know? That your… well, does he know about us?"

Her eyes slid back over to Rick, "No, but only because I haven't talked to him"

He shifted his stance, "Seems like he'd have a problem with it?"

"He wouldn't. We're not like _that_ "

She noticed the way Rick's gaze dropped after her comment, "Well that's good then"

"...Your wife, on the other hand?", She quizzed softly, curious as to whether he had spoken to her or not.

He seemed to hesitate, peering back over his shoulder at his son, who was celebrating his win at the same stall, "Well she's-"

"Mike?", Michonne didn't mean to interrupt Rick, but she could hear her son crying again, and spotted the toddler in his father's arms looking distressed, "What happened?"

Mike shrugged, trying to sooth Andre, but the boy was rubbing at his face with the back of his hand, "I don't know, he was fine just a minute ago"

Michonne didn't waste any time retrieving her son from him, "Hey! What's wrong, baby?"

Andre's cry only grew louder, and it was when she cupped his face that she saw his lips had doubled in size as he breathed through his mouth with laboured breaths, "What did you give him?!"

"Nothing!", Mike frowned, "Just chocolate-"

"Did it have peanuts in it, Mike?!"

He looked at her with wide eyes, "Uh… I don't know, I didn't check, is he allergic?"

"What's wrong?", Rick was at her side in a flash.

"I need to get him to a hospital", She stressed, calling for her friend in a panic, "Maggie!"

"Come on, I'll take you", Rick urged.

"I'll take him", Mike insisted firmly, trying to step closer to Michonne and Andre, but Maggie appeared, "He's my son"

"Oh no!", The Brunette gasped, stroking Andre's hair back from his face.

"I haven't got any time for you", Rick countered squinting at the boy's father, before he yelled over to his brother, "Jeff! Wait here with Carl, I'll be right back!"

Jeffrey looked over at him with concern, but still nodded, "Alright!"

Michonne clung to Andre as she ran through the crowds, with Rick in front of her clearing the way, while Mike and Maggie followed behind. If her son wasn't struggling to breath, and under different circumstances entirely, she would have dreaded the thought of having the two men around each other, but she didn't have time to care.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"Thanks for bringing them here and all… but who are you?"

Rick didn't consider himself as an alpha male. He was confident when it came to his work, and most over areas of his life, though not always when it came to matters of the heart. But Mike's obvious disliking of him, made him want to assert himself.

All Rick wanted to do was explore his budding relationship with Michonne further, and he knew in able to do that, he had to be accepting of all the people in her life, sadly, Mike being one of them, but Rick had grown tired of the younger male after only a few seconds.

He gave Mike the most unimpressed look, "Rick."

"Rick?", The younger male repeated, "And you're a friend of Maggie's or something?"

Rick took in a deep, calming breath, "No."

Mike stated at him, as if he were waiting for a more detailed answer.

"You and I don't know each other, and I don't know what Michonne feels comfortable disclosing with you, so it's best you talk to her", Rick issued dryly.

"I think I have a right to know who's hanging around my son"

Rick squinted at him, "Which is somethan' you can easily find out from Andre's mother"

Mike's lips twitched, clearly annoyed as he turned away from Rick, who had to take another long calming breath.

When they were all finally allowed behind the curtain to see Michonne and her son, Mike went to one side, while Rick went to the other, where Michonne was sat on the bed beside the sleeping toddler, and Maggie stood at the top of the bed like some kind of referee.

"How's he doing?", Rick asked first, watching Mike take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Better", She answered, stroking Andre's arm gently, "Just waiting for the nurse to give us the 'all-clear' so we can go"

"I'll drop you home", Mike offered, peering at her, whilst sneaking a peak at Rick.

"My mom's coming so you don't have to", Michonne informed, turning her attentions back to Rick, "You should probably get back to Carl and your brother"

He tore his eyes away from Mike, "Yeah… you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks for everything"

"No problem. I'll call you later", The temptation to kiss her was rife, but he had to control himself, settling for brushing his hand down her arm instead.

"Alright"

He gave Maggie a brief farewell and left without giving Mike a second look. Rick had started to wonder what kind of parent Andre's father was, after realising that it was Michonne's mother who helped her the most, but after that day, he realised Mike probably offered little to no help.

Carl was very understanding as to why his father left, and Rick appreciated that. He tried to make it up to him the next day.

"Can I have it red and blue? Like a really dark blue and bright red?"

Rick looked at the paint samples that his son held up, "Those the colours you want?"

Carl nodded, "Yeah"

"Alright. Red and blue it is".

They walked further up the aisle in the hardware store, heading towards the paints. Rick had agreed to let his son redecorate his room, purely because he wanted the boy to feel more at home when he spent the weekends with him, as he didn't want the eleven year old to feel as if he was being shuttled between two houses.

"So when are you leaving?", Carl asked, fidgeting with the samples in his hand.

"Monday. I'll be back on Thursday so it won't interrupt our time together", Rick explained, crouching down to look at the tubs of paint.

"Can you take me there sometime? I don't remember it"

"You wouldn't remember it. The last time you were in Kings County was when you were about three. Maybe even two"

"How come mom never talks about it?"

Rick nearly flinched at the mention of his wife, "Uh, she doesn't really remember much about the town either. We've been here so long that we forget…"

"That lady at the fair yesterday said she was from there. She sounded like you, too"

He chuckled at his son, "Yeah. Her names Maggie"

"Can your friend really skateboard?"

"She said she could, didn't she?"

His so seemed impressed, "I didn't know you had cool friends dad"

Rick tilted his head at the boy, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Carl shrugged, "It's just that you're not cool"

His eyebrows sprung up in shock, "I'm not cool?"

"I mean, you're cooler than my friend's dad's. All they do is go fishing and listen to old country music"

Rick stared at his son, "So on the scale of what's cool or not, I'm somewhere between Michonne and men that go fishing and listen to old country music?"

His son's blue eyes glazed over as he thought about it, obviously taking his reply into careful consideration, "Yeah. You're a little closer to Michonne by maybe… one point"

"Why thank you, son. I'll remember that when I paint your room pink"

Carl chuckled at him, "No fucking way!"

"Yes fucking way, and watch your mouth"

Rick hated how he felt towards the end of his sons stay on the weekend. It was always bittersweet, as he loved having him around, and it made him miss how much time they were able to spend together.

Once the father and son duo finished in the hardware store, Rick made the quick drive over to Lori's home. He was dreading seeing her, as the last time they spoke she was requesting he waited for her to get her act together. Everything she had said to him in that phone call would have left Rick jumping for joy a month ago, maybe even as little as two or three weeks ago, but now he was trying out a new path, one that didn't include his wife. He still cared about Lori, and it was for that reason that he felt as if he had to tread delicately, but his mind was set, and he was more than ready to move on from her.

"What are we getting mom for her birthday?"

Rick glanced at his son as he unfastened his seat belt, "Uh, how about you pick somethan' out and we'll go get it for her"

"I don't know what though?", Carl cringed, opening the passenger door.

"...Just somethan'... nice"

They exited the vehicle and walked up the garden path that led to the home. The door opened as soon as they both stepped onto the porch, and Rick wasn't sure what he was looking at, but he knew it wasn't a good sign. Lori had her hair in waves, neater than usual, and she wore a white and yellow sun dress that stopped at the knee. It quickly dawned on Rick that she was emulating a look that he had often loved when they were happily married, years ago.

He inwardly groaned, keeping his gaze on his son, "Alright, see you next week, buddy"

"Yep. Bye dad", Carl allowed his father to ruffle his hair before stepping in the home, "Hey mom"

"Hey honey! Dinner's done so go wash up", She informed, ruffling his hair a second time.

Rick slowly began to back up, "Alright so I'll-"

"Do you want to stay for dinner? There's more than enough?"

He frowned at his wife, annoyed she would make such an offer after everything that had happened, "Uh, I actually have to-"

"Yeah dad, why not? We can tell mom about our plans for my room", Carl piped from behind his mother, "And about how uncle Jeffrey nearly hurled yesterday"

"Really? I'd love to hear about it. You're more than welcome to stay, Rick", Lori leaned on the door frame as she crossed her arms.

Rick would have felt horrible for turning down the offer in front of his son, despite seeing through his wife's facade, "I can stay a little while"

"Great."

Stepping into his old home felt strange for Rick, and he found himself looking around the property like it was his first time visiting. Lori had changed most of the decor to something a little more rustic, with a lot more wooden furniture and brown tones. He hovered in the living room with his hands in his pockets as Carl disappeared upstairs and Lori went to the kitchen.

His phone chimed in his pocket, and he retrieved it to see a message from Michonne, which instantly caused a smile to grow on his face. He was desperate to see her before he left for King's County, and he could only hope he could squeeze in a little time before he left.

"Hey", She chirped when she answered the phone.

"Hey, you okay?", He asked, peering out the living room window, "How's Andre?"

"He's good… but he's avoiding any kind of chocolate now"

"That's sad, but good at the same time"

She chuckled, "That's what I thought"

"Listen, I'm going away for the week for a case… and I was wondering if we could meet up before I go"

"Oh? When do you go?"

"Tomorrow…"

"Ah… well…", He heard a door close, "My mom doesn't know I've been fired yet, so she's expecting me to go to work tonight"

"You haven't told her?"

"No", She huffed, "I'm hoping to get another job first"

"Alright."

"We can meet up later? Say seven?"

"Fine by me, I'll come get you"

"Alright"

"Bye"

"I'm setting up", Lori called stepping in to the end of the room, where the dining table was.

Rick shoved his phone back in his pocket as he strolled over to join her, whispering harshly when he was close enough, "What's this about?"

Lori's eyes widened by a small fraction, "What? It's just dinner?"

"All of a sudden you want us to sit down for dinner?"

She exhaled, tucking her bangs behind her ear, "I _just_ thought it would be nice. I've done a lot of thinking since our talk and I'm hoping you've taken what I've said into consideration…"

He had taken her plea into consideration, "Lori, you can't ask me for such a thang. You just can't, it's not fair"

Her brown eyes darted all over his face, "I'm not asking you to wait to be unfair, I'm just trying to give us a better chance at working a second time-"

"I wanted that. You know I wanted that, but you weren't interested in any of it when I was. Now I have a chance to move on and be happy-"

"I want you to be happy, Rick. I do. But wouldn't you be happier here? With your family? Where you actually belong?"

Rick had begun to frown at her, bewilder by her questions, when he heard Carl's heavy footsteps skipping down the staircase. He had to compose himself, standing up a little straighter when his son appeared, "What's for dinner?"

"Oh, nothing special", Lori smiled at the boy, tearing her gaze away from Rick, "Just spaghetti and meatballs…"

Carl nodded, taking a seat opposite where his father stood, "Nice"

Rick had to bite his tongue as he sat down to join them for dinner. His wife was finally trying to make amends, something he had desperately wanted for as long as he could remember. He didn't want to hurt Lori, and he didn't want her to feel shunned aside, as he still cared for her, but her efforts were coming a little too late for Rick.

"So you went to the fair? How was it?", Lori queried, spinning some pasta onto her fork.

"Good", Carl answered, mimicking his mother, "Dad didn't go on anything though"

She chuckled, "You know your father doesn't like things like that"

"You had fun with your uncle Jeffrey though, right?", Rick raised an eyebrow at the boy, barely touching his meal.

"Yeah, even though he kept saying he felt sick", His son snickered evilly, "We went on the Ferris wheel again after you left, and he was literally turning green when we reached the top"

"Oh yeah?"

"You left?", Rick should have known his wife would pick up on that piece of information, her eyes studying him carefully, "Work?"

"No", Rick shook his head, his gaze on his plate, "Had to help a friend out"

Lori nodded, while Carl carried on, "Oh, dad's friend said she broke her wrist and her ankle Skateboarding before, so it's not just me. It happens to a lot of people"

"Oh? Friend from work?", His wife quizzed, back to staring at Rick.

"Yeah", He nodded, glancing in her direction, "Why don't you tell your mother about your plans for your room?"

"We're painting it red and blue", Carl informed before shoving a forkful of food in his mouth.

Lori nodded, "Red and blue, huh? That sounds great. Can't wait to see the finished product…"

Rick did his best to avoid the sneaky looks his wife sent him over dinner. He knew she was eager to question him about what their son had mentioned, but she would have to wait. As far as he was concerned, she didn't need to know any more about Michonne, other than the fact that she exists.

Carl didn't seem to pick up on the underlying tension brewing between his parents, and Rick wasn't sure if that was because they were getting better at hiding their problems, or if their son was getting better at ignoring them.

Rick waited until his son was done before declaring his own fullness, and he did his best to look as if he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

"So can we start painting next week?", Carl asked as he followed his father to the front door.

"Yeah. I'll see if I can get Shane to help… shouldn't take too long if the three of us are working on it", Rick responded, noticing the way his wife hovered behind them.

"Cool. Alright, see ya' dad"

"Bye son", Rick gave the boy a pat on the back before watching him start for the stairs. He opened the door and stepped out, hoping Lori wouldn't take the opportunity to quiz him, "Alright, bye-"

Carl had barely made it out of earshot when she began, "So… is this friend of yours who I think it is?"

He could have groaned, "I really need to get going"

She scoffed in a disbelieving manner, "What? I can't ask? Carl's met her-"

"That wasn't planned."

"So it was her? Who is she? It's like there's this big question mark instead of a person… Are you ashamed or something?"

"No. Never.", He responded firmly, annoyed that she would even make an assumption.

She leaned on the door frame as she squinted at him, "Have you slept with her?"

Rick could have balled his fists in frustration, "Lori, I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask me anythan' else about her. At all. That side of my life is not your business-"

"I used to be that side of your life. I was your business. So excuse me if it may seem like I'm being nosey, but I would like to know who it is that has you willing to throw everything away-"

"I haven't thrown anythan' away. I've just stopped what we were doing", He insisted sternly.

"And how is that meant to make me feel?", She spat, her eyes glistening with tears, "I thought you'd always be there for me"

"I'm still here. Just not in that way anymore-"

"Did you even think about me in all of this? Didn't you care about how this would make me feel?"

"I've always that about you in every decision I've made, even this one. And look how far that's gotten me"

"Didn't you enjoy tonight? Didn't you like spending more time with your family? That's what you wanted and I'm trying to give you that-"

He threw his hands up in exasperation, "After I told you I've met someone else."

"Because I didn't know you were even looking for someone else!", She hissed, "I thought things between us were fine, they had been for months, and then you just spring this on me-"

"We're just going around in circles here", He announced, shifting from one foot to another.

She smoothed her hair back from her face, "Look, I meant what I said, I just want you to consider what we have. I think you belong here, and if you give it sometime, then we might actually be able to have what we had before. I'm figuring out what I want and I think you are too, but as Carl's parents, and husband and wife, we ought to put each other first. The last thing we should do is bring someone else into all this when you and I both know that there's still a lot of love between us"

Rick raked his fingers through his hair, realising that severing what he had with Lori wasn't going to be as easy as he initially thought, "Lori, I don't-"

"Just wait. Just think about it", She urged, putting her hand out to stop him, "I know you might think you've made up your mind now, but you're putting a lot in the line for something-... something that might not even work out? I told you, I know you Rick and say this woman just wants to have a little fun and nothing serious? You wouldn't want that... Just think about it some more, please?"

He hated to admit it, but something in his wife's words struck a chord with him.

"Please? Rick?", She pleaded, resting her hand on his forearm..

Rick wanted to kick himself as he backed up nodding, "Alright. Fine"

"Thank you".

It was only when he was in the comfort of his truck that he growled, reprimanding himself for not being more forthcoming in his decision. He didn't need more time, he knew he didn't, his mind was made up and he knew he wanted to move on from their marriage. He had rid himself of his wedding ring, ready to pursue the new path in his life that led to Michonne.

But he thought his wife was right to some extent. While Michonne had told him she wanted to see him again and things seemed to be going in the right direction between them, he feared that she'd soon lose interest, or even worse, find someone better.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"I messed up today. I'm sorry… I guess I'm just not used to having to look out for things like that…"

Michonne tucked the sheets around her son as she listened to Mike apologise for a countless time since the incident at the fair, "Yeah. You're not"

"How is he?"

"Fine", She sat back, switching the phone from one ear to the other.

"Good… Uh, I can ask my parents for help with the hospital bill-"

"I paid it.", She informed dryly.

"Already?... Okay…"

She stared at the wall in front of her, ready to be done with their conversation. Everything about Mike was annoying her to the core, and she wished he would understand that apologising profusely wasn't going to elevate the dislike she felt for him.

"...So who was that guy? Rick?"

"The guy I'm seeing", She answered flatly.

"Oh? How long's that been going on for?"

"Not long."

"...And you already allowed him around Andre?"

Michonne began to simmer, "I think you should be grateful that he cared enough to drive your son to the hospital. He could have stood back and done nothing, but he volunteered to help-"

"I said I'd do it, Michonne. He didn't need to tag along"

"Mike, you really need to get your priorities straight, because the last thing you should be worried about, after putting your son in the hospital, is who was willing to help"

"You just said you haven't been seeing him for long so he shouldn't have been there when Andre was meant to be with me. I just don't want some guy trying to play father to my son because he wants to get in your good books"

"Well I'm guessing what you saw today hit a nerve, and maybe it's starting to dawn on you that you haven't done enough for your son, because if you had, then you wouldn't care if another man was holding him, so how about you just focus on being a father, period!", She snapped, moving the phone from her ear and hanging up the call.

Michonne's patience with Mike was running dangerously low, and she was beginning to wonder if he was worth the hassle.

She changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, dressing as if she was going to work, when truthfully she was spending the evening with Rick. Her mother still didn't know that she was fired from her job, and as she had told Rick, she was hoping to have another job when sphere did finally break the news. Having spent a couple hundred dollars on Andre's hospital bill, she was knew she had to find work sooner rather than later.

"He's fast asleep, mom", Michonne informed as she strolled into the kitchen area.

"Oh good. My poor grandbaby", The older woman sighed, peeping her lunch for work the next day, "I bet that idiot didn't even offer to pay the damn bill. What kind of fool doesn't remember that his child has an allergy?"

Michonne leaned against the counter as she prepared for another rant.

"He sees Andre once a month, if even that, and he buys him a toy every couple months, and that's all he does! Nothing else! The least he could do is remember not to almost kill his son!"

"I know, mom…"

Her mother groaned, cutting through her sandwiches harshly, "Remind me to thank that friend of yours… Rick?"

"Yeah…"

"It was nice of him to help out"

Michonne shifted her stance as she prepared to confess to one of her lies, "...He's not a friend"

Her mother glanced at her, "Oh, that's not nice. I'm sure he thinks you two are friends"

Michonne could have snickered, but didn't, "I mean… I'm kind of- we're dating"

The woman stilled, turning her head to look at her daughter, "Oh, Michonne-"

"I know what you're worried about mom, but I'd like to think you have some faith in me, and you know I wouldn't stop going to class or forget about Andre just because a guys in the picture…"

"It's not that. I know you wouldn't do any of that… it's just I know the trials and tribulations that come with and relationship can be demanding, and you already have Andre, school, work… it's a lot to juggle. You throw a man into all of that and it gets even harder"

"Rick's not just a man though…", She shrugged, "He's… he gets it. He gets what I have to do and he understands…"

"...So hold on, when he came by here-"

"He's not a student. He works as a bounty hunter. He lied because he knew I wasn't ready to tell you yet", She hurriedly explained, "I met him at the bar when he was there for work… Sorry"

"A bounty hunter?", Her mother narrowed her eyes at her, "I knew he looked too damn old to be-"

"He's twenty-nine… he has a son, too", Michonne added.

Her face fell, "What _else_?"

"...His son's eleven… he was married… well, is married… they're separated…"

"Oh god, Michonne. You couldn't find one with less...stuff! He's married with a child-"

"Separated, mom"

"You've got your own priorities and he has his! How the hell do you think that's going to play out? I mean, he seemed like a nice enough man but all that is too much to-"

"I like him. A lot", She ejected before her mother could complain further, "He's… I haven't met anyone like him before"

"That's all sweet, but you need to understand what I'm talking about here", Her mother huffed, resting her hand on the counter, "And you don't think the things you both had to deal with won't be demanding? Just look at everything he comes with! Michonne this could get messy-"

"It could get messy even without the added extras. He and I are no different. I have baggage too. I have Andre, you and subsequently Mike"

Her mother furrowed her brows, "Did you just count me as your baggage?"

"You come as part of the deal, so yeah. I did", Michonne grinned, knowing her mother would eventually smile.

The older woman reluctantly smiled, "I would like to think that I'm a bonus"

Michonne through her arms around her mother's shoulders, "You are"

"Thank you", Her mother tilted her head to kiss Michonne's temple, "But I really want you to think about what you're doing here. I get that you may like him and that's a great feeling and all, but realistically, how is that all going to play out? Have you thought about how it would feel to date a man with a wife? At least you and Mike aren't together and… well you weren't together entirely but… it's different with marriage. I don't want you getting hurt"

"I know, mom. I know"

She felt as if some weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she was thankful that she didn't have to pretend who Rick was anymore.

However, her mother's concerns weren't unfounded, as Michonne often worried about Rick's predicament. She didn't forget the way he hesitated to tell her about what happened when he spoke to his wife, and it was something she intended to address again. It would have been better for both of them to put things on a halt while they both fixed their personal lives, but she would have struggled with such an arrangement. She enjoyed seeing him, and she looked forward to his calls, so the last thing she wanted was for that to stop.

Rick's truck was parked out front the complex, and Michonne had to withhold the urge to skip over to him as he leaned against the vehicle.

"Hey", She smiled, strolling over to him instead.

He smiled back, taking hold of her waist when he was close enough and pressing his lips against hers. She almost swooned, as she had wanted to kiss him since she saw him earlier in the day. He pulled back an inch, "Hey"

She abandoned all hope of not grinning from ear to ear like an idiot in his presence. She couldn't help it. Everything about him made the knees weak, and she was excited at the prospect of spending some time with him before he disappeared for the week.

"So, where are we going?", She queried once they were saturated in his truck.

"It's up to you. I don't mind", He answered, pulling onto the street, "Are you hungry?"

She had a hunger, but not for food, "Uh, yeah. Sure… we could order a pizza or something… head back to your place…"

It was a bold move on her behalf, but she felt it paid off when she saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, "Yeah?"

"Unless you had something else in-"

"No. That's… that's fine by me. We can do that"

"We'll do that then"

He bit his lip for a moment while he peered out the windshield, "So… Did you talk to Andre's dad?"

Her mood almost soured, "Yeah. I did… he's… well, he said he was sorry…"

"...So he didn't know he was allergic?"

Michonne turned her head to look at Rick, "I told him… a while ago… but he's not around Andre enough to remember, I guess"

Rick nodded, "...Can I ask what happened with you two? How you got Andre? I remember you said you were friends and after…"

"We just… it was once. One time, we were a little drunk at a party… we put it behind us… I even forgot about it after a couple of months… then I found out I was pregnant"

Rick's gaze crawled back up to her, "And after that?"

"We came to an agreement when I was pregnant… we'd raise him together… just not as a couple. But then he told his parents and they… well, they weren't happy. They think I tried to ruin his life, and they think he was destined for great things…"

"So they don't see him? Andre, I mean?"

"No. Never have. His sister does when he has him but, his grandparents aren't interested…", She huffed, gazing out the windshield, "Mike cares about Andre, but with everything going on between our parents… he just doesn't know where to put himself. He's always been like that, he hates feeling like he's in the middle"

Rick frowned, "That's his child, though. If his parents don't want anythan' to do with them, then that's their loss, but his son should be the most important thing in all this"

She smirked, "You need to have a talk with my mom and Maggie. The would love you"

"...How'd you feel about it all?"

She slowly inhaled, "I… I think that Andre has a chance at having a father… a good one, and I think Mike can do it. He just needs to grow up"

Rick glanced at her with a dubious expression, "...Can I ask about your father?"

Her chest grew tight, "He died. Years ago"

"Oh. I'm sorry about that"

"Don't be", She insisted dryly, preparing to change the subject, "So… what toppings do you like your pizza?"

He snuck a peek at her before answering, "...I will honestly eat anythan'..."

"Good, because I like everything".

Michonne was actually quite intrigued to see where Rick lived, and what his home looked like. While she already thought of him kind and genuine, she knew that he had to have a darker side to him due to his work, which appealed to her when she thought about it.

They arrived at one of the many apartments complexes in the city, one that Michonne had passed countless times. It was on one of the quiet, picturesque streets, where a lot of new homes were built. She wondered how long he had lived there, as then she'd be able to figure out how long he and his wife had been separated.

"Very nice..", She remarked, stepping into his home. It was what she considered to be, a bachelors pad; very modern, dark tones and minimalist, "You decorated?"

"Yeah. You like it?", He queried, stepping over to the kitchen area.

"Yeah. It's... it looks like a single guy lives here"

"...Well that's what I am?"

"And I'm pleased to see that", She replied, leaning against the opposite side of the counter.

He raised an eyebrow at her, mimicking her position, his hands flat on the counter, "You like what's going on here? Between us?"

"I'm sure I told you that I did…", She insisted softly, "Don't you believe me?"

His eyes watched her closely, "I just want to be sure. That's all."

"After everything that's happened, you still 'just want to be sure'? I even told my mom the truth about you, so-"

"You did?", His eyebrows sprung up in surprise.

"Yep", She nodded, biting her lip as she dropped her gaze, "She didn't freak out the way I thought she would-"

"But what did she say?"

"...She just doesn't want things to get complicated. We both have a lot of stuff going on and-"

"I won't let any my 'stuff' be a problem for us", He asserted gently, "I don't want _anythan'_ to mess this up"

She forced herself to look up at him, meeting his intense eyes with her own, "Me neither"

"That's great then…"

Michonne fought another shy smile from appeared on her face, "So… let's eat"

Her intentions were to walk around the counter and help him prepare their late dinner. Quite a simple task, but once she was in arm's reach, Rick had hold of her, and Michonne, didn't dare resist him. His lips crashed into hers and their tongues began the battle to claim territory. She could have jumped up and clicked her heels for wearing one of her nicer sets of underwear.

His fingers gripped her with urgency, almost tearing her clothes from her body, and she wondered if she would have to travel home in rags. While he pulled his t-shirt over his head she yanked his belt from his jeans, and attempted to free his member in record breaking speed, but Rick had other ideas. With one hand on her thigh and the other around her waist he hoisted her up, carrying her through his home.

If she was being truthful, she would have let him have her wherever he wanted, but once he laid her in the centre of his large bed, she decided that it would have been a better foundation. He watched her remove her bra, then lay on her back to peel her thong off, giving him the perfect view in the process. He stepped out of his jeans and boxers, watching her as he retrieved a condom from the nightstand.

She gazed at him with lust filled eyes as her hands brushed over her stomach and dived between her legs. Normally, she wasn't so courageous to behave such a way, but she was desperate for him, and she wanted him to see that. He peered at her through hooded eyes, witnessing her fingers caress her folds while she waited for him.

She was just beginning to lose herself from her own touch when she felt his head between her legs suddenly, almost making her jump. His hands pulled her thighs even further apart, exposing her delicate to him, and his tongue was soon lapping at her with soft, caring strokes. Her eyes rolled back and her back arched, her body relishing in his touch. He was skilled with his tongue, and she was grateful.

As much as she loved what he was doing to her centre, it was the fastest way to an orgasm, and that wasn't something she was ready for yet.

She forced herself to tap his hand that held his thigh, "Rick…"

He hummed against her bundle of nerves, making her eyes roll around in her head, "I'm not done"

"I don't want to- Oh, God!", He latched on to her with his mouth as his tongue ran circles around her bud, and her mind went blank.

With the man's mouth ravishing her core and an intensity building inside of her, Michonne abandoned all hope of not reaching an orgasm so soon. The way he held her in place, occasionally pinning her legs back further to continue his fine dining experience, became too much for her. She grabbed at the sheets instinctively trying to pull away from him as she hit the peak of her high. He wasn't letting her go, his tongue stroking her clit as she grew even more sensitive.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fucking- fuck!", She cried, her legs shaking around him.

He finally released her when she calmed, kissing his way up her torso as she panted, her heart beat ringing in her ears. His mouth finally found her neck, "How was that?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she spoke, "G-great"

A little chuckle left him as he leaned above her one hand, while the other guided his member between her drenched walls. He sucked air between his teeth as he sank into her, a primal growl leaving him when he was fully enveloped.

Michonne could hardly speak. Not only did he fill her, but she was sure he had settled in uncharted territory. He withdrew himself by an inch or two, then slipped back inside her, causing her breath to hitch in her throat.

He leaned down, onto his forearms, encouraging her to lace her arms around his shoulders, "I meant what I said…"

His lips brushed over hers, his nose grazing hers. It was almost hard to believe that she had only met Rick a short while ago, but she was almost certain she didn't want to be anywhere else but beneath him.

"I don't want anythan' to mess this up… at all"

She gave a poor attempt at a nod as she basked in his existence, both above her and inside of her.

"...I'm gonna' make you come this time"

"...You just did-", He drew his hips back and thrust into her, hardly allowing the sentence to leave her mouth, and causing her eyes to snap open.

He sighed, a devilish smile spreading across his face, "...That was with my tongue".


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

"...He's going to be in town, at the mayor's annual ball. Bold, right? He's rented out one of those houses on the edge of town, he'll be with his girlfriend, which I don't think his wife will like very much…"

Rick knew he should have been listening to the important information that Glenn was feeding them, but his mind was elsewhere.

"...I booked one room at two different motels, both on the other sides of town, and the police department there is right in the middle, so if we need to…"

All Rick could think about was Michonne. He wish their night together would have ended the next morning, but she had to keep up appearances with her mother. He could barely keep his hands off her when she did leave, and he smiled to himself when he remembered when they almost got carried away in his truck outside her home.

"...He's never alone, he usually has four or five guys with him, so we're going to need back up no matter what…"

Rick wondered if she was thinking about him too. He wanted to call her right there and then, but he didn't trust himself. He knew once he heard her voice, he'd be hungry for her all over again. He kept replaying the sounds of breathy moans in his mind, remembering what it felt like to have her beneath him while he drove into her again and again.

"Rick?"

He remembered the way she clung to him, her nails nearly piercing his skin as she cried out.

"Rick!"

He jumped, looking up at Glenn, "Huh? What- what's wrong? What happened?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?", Shane frowned, his cup of coffee hovering by his lips.

"Nothing. Just tired"

"Well you better pay attention to this"

Rick couldn't pay attention to anything, and the more he thought of Michonne, the happier he felt. He just wanted her, and knowing she told her mother about them brought him great relief, because that meant she truly wanted him to. It also made him realise that he had to clear the air with Lori. He couldn't allow her to think he was seriously considering giving their marriage a second chance, as he had left that idea alone. Even if, heavens forbid, things didn't work out with Michonne, he had seen his wife in a whole new light, and it wasn't a flattering one.

When they arrived in Kings County, Rick forced himself to concentrate, not only for work, but because he hoped he wouldn't bump into anyone he didn't wish to see, specifically his father. He loathed the man, and he knew if anyone knew he was back in town, his father would soon find out too.

"Ain't this romantic"

Rick rolled his eyes at Shane as he threw himself down on the motels bed, "It's three nights"

"I don't care how long we've been friends, if I feel you pushing up against me, I'm kicking you right where it hurts", Shane warned as he dropped his duffle bag on the floor.

Rick hated the fact that he laughed, "I shouldn't even be talking to you after that stunt you pulled at the hospital"

Shane scoffed, "What stunt?"

"Sending Michonne up when you knew I was up there with Carl and his mother?", Rick squinted at his friend with disbelief.

The other man shrugged, "Yeah, so what? It's about time Lori knew that you ain't always gonna' be sitting there, twiddling your thumbs, waiting on her-"

Rick groaned, pulling his baseball cap off his head, "Here we go"

"I wish she did see Michonne. I do. I really do. I would have chopped off my left nut _just_ to see the look on her face"

"That's Carl's mother-"

"And I love Carl more than anythan', but his mother's a piece of work, and I hope you realise that now"

"I do, alright?", Rick offered, raising his hands up, "I do. I need to… fix that"

"Get rid of that, you mean. Try to be happy for once"

Rick would have told Shane that he had chosen to be happy, but he knew his best friend well enough to know that he would pry, and Rick was not about to discuss his romantic life with Shane.

Much to his dismay, they spent the better part of the day stuck indoors, eating pizza they ordered and watching TV as they waited for any news from Glenn. Rick was beside himself with boredom, and the only highlight of his day was using too few minutes he had alone to call Michonne, while Shane went out to buy beer.

"Hey", She chimed when she answered the phone.

"You okay?", He asked, sitting back on the headboard of the bed.

"Yeah, just got home. Are you in town now?"

"Yeah, been here since the morning"

"I hope you're not going around shooting out anybody else's speakers"

He smirked, "Very funny"

She giggled, and he could easily picture her covering her face with her hand as she did, "I think I'm hilarious"

"Yeah, of course you are", He bit his lip for a moment, "Where's Andre?"

"He's taking a nap. It was his first day at day care, and he loved it, which is great because my mom won't have to watch him when I'm at school or when I get a job"

"How's the search going?"

"Good. I have a few interviews lined up this week so… we'll see how they go"

Rick squinted at the wall in front of him, "...What do you put down for experience?"

"...Entertainer"

His mouth snapped shut, and he wouldn't have known what to say next, if Michonne hadn't burst into a fit of giggles, "I was curious"

"Well I was entertaining, right?"

"I don't know if that's the word I'd use to describe it but, yeah, you… you definitely entertained somethan'-"

"Stop!", She chuckled, "You're going to make me blush"

Rick grinned like a simple man, "I think we established that I can do more than just _that_ "

"You've been thinking about last night?"

"I've been trying not to but it's near enough impossible"

"I know the feeling"

"Maybe when I get back we can-", Rick stopped himself when Shane burst into the room, "So how's that essay going?"

Michonne cackled wickedly, "I take it you're not alone anymore?"

"Hey Michonne!", Shane called, smirking as he threw a can of beer to Rick.

"Tell him I said hey"

"She said ' _go away, Shane_ '", Rick lied, throwing his legs off the bed, "How about I give you a call tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. When do you get back?"

"Thursday"

"Okay, well we can set something up if you-"

"Yeah, of course. I'll let you know what time we should be heading back"

"Alright. Bye, Rick"

"Bye, Michonne"

Shane could barely wait until he got off the phone to mimicking him, "Bye, Michonne"

"You need to get a life"

Despite his phone call being interrupted, Rick's mood was elevated further, and he decided to throw himself into their latest case, hoping it would make the time fly by.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't. Their second day in Kings County was spent mostly indoors once again. It was one of the pitfalls of such a job, as why he enjoyed how much free time he had, there were times where they were sat around descending into boredom. He probably wouldn't have minded so much if he wasn't in such close proximity to a grumpy Shane. Whenever his friend didn't have a chance to throw his weight around, he would become irritable, so he'd have to pace or fidget with something to keep his mind busy, which drove Rick insane.

When Wednesday rolled around, they finally had a chance to jump into action. Rick and Shane left for the Mayor's annual ball, dressed in their tuxedos to blend in, and Rick would have preferred to hide in his usual attire, but sadly he didn't have that option.

" _We got three exits here gentleman_ ", Glenn announced in Rick's ear piece, " _You need to cover them all_ '

Rick took the main entrance, stood around with a tight, false smile as people wandered around him, excited for the evening's festivities.

"No sign over here", Daryl rasped, and Rick tried his best to look over at the other man, but the crowd was growing thick.

"All I see is a bunch of assholes", Shane snickered.

Rick watched every man that passed him carefully, trying to spot the man in person, when his line of vision was blocked. His eyes darted to the obstruction, and he quickly grew tense, "Mr Grimes"

The man raised a white eyebrow at him, "Mr Grimes, huh?"

Rick looked the older man from head to toe, "I thought you'd prefer that"

"What are you doing here?", He squinted at him with his dark blue eyes.

"Work"

"Work? That's why you're back down here?"

"Yep", Rick all but bit his words out, "Work"

He scoffed mockingly, "Well, I'm glad to hear that you're finally doing somethan' with your life"

"I've always done somethan' with my life"

"Getting a girl pregnant at eighteen don't count-"

"And there's that old argument", Rick rolled his eyes, "Don't you have somethan' to do here? A job, maybe?"

The man's lip curled as he snarled at him, as if he were about to say something else, but he swiftly turned on his heel and stalked away.

" _Your dad_?", Glenn quizzed in Rick's ear piece.

"Grandfather", He replied dryly, "My father's probably around here somewhere"

"Aye, I think I see him", Shane informed, leading Rick to move from his spot.

"Where?"

"By that big girl, you see her? She got a pink dress"

Rick snaked his way through the room, discreetly looking for the woman Shane described. It wasn't a difficult task, as the woman had on the brightest dress Rick had ever seen. Nearby where a group of men stood near a table, laughing loudly, swigging their drinks, drawing attention to themselves.

" _Police are on their way_ ", Glenn announced, just as Rick made his way up to the man they had been waiting for, with Daryl and Shane on either side of him.

He slapped his hand on the man's shoulder, keeping a smile on his face as he whispered, "Hey there Simon, you mind stepping outside for a moment?"

Simon frowned at him, "Who the hell-"

"I really don't think you want all these nice people to know that you skipped bail, do you? Or that you're a wanted man?"

Simons face smoothed, but only for a second, as he soon turned back to his friends, "Excuse me for a moment, gentleman"

Rick wasn't expecting Simon to comply so easily, and he almost felt bad for frog marching the man out the building, but when he caught sight of the police cars waiting, Simon bolted.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Freeze!"

Rick and Daryl ran after the man, who hopped over the wall and ran across the huge lawn, making no attempt to heed their warnings. The tuxedos that they all wore were the most uncomfortable pieces of clothing to run in, and so Rick tugged the jacket off so he didn't feel as restricted, throwing it over his shoulder when he was free.

"Stop, asshole!"

"No!"

Rick was wondering how long the man intended to run for, as there was nothing but grass around the mayor's grand home, when he heard the sound of a engine approaching.

Shane appeared on a motorcycle, driving directly into Simon and knocking him down, "Gotcha!"

Rick slowed, "Where'd you get that?!"

"It was parked up. I asked the valley for the keys", His friend shrugged, "Y'all would have chased him into the sunset if I didn't"

"Ah shit", Daryl winced as he grabbed his side, "I got a damn stitch. Grab that asshole before he runs off again"

" _We got him boys_!", Glenn cheered, " _This is our biggest job yet_!"

Rick and Shane held onto Simon as they walked back to the front of the home, and Rick was only a little annoyed that the police did nothing to help catch the perpetrator.

It was only when they had Simon in the back of the police car that Rick noticed his father stood in front of the tall doors of the mayor's mansion, watching on with stern eyes. He didn't pay him too much attention. He had come you terms with that fact that his father and his grandfather were the type of men that he didn't want to aspire to, and he only had to interact with one of them to remind himself how much he hated both of them.

When it was time for the gang to leave Kings County, Rick all but jumped in Shane's truck, desperate to return to his home. He was also desperate to see Michonne again, and he had intended to retrieve his phone to send her a message, when he saw an incoming call from Lori. His eyes nearly bulged, as he had completely forgotten about his situation with her over the last few days, and he realised he needed to speak to her sooner, rather than later.

"Where are you?"

"I'm about to head out, I need to get to the grocery store", Lori informed, sounding as if she was moving around her home.

"I'll be back in town in a hour, you think you can meet me at the diner?"

"Uh, yeah, sure"

"Alright, see you then"

Rick knew that he had to be crystal clear with Lori. He couldn't back down or give into her requests, nor could he let her believe that he even saw a reconciliation as an option.

"We going to the diner, then?", Shane raised an eyebrow at him.

"No. I'm going to the diner, you are going somewhere else-"

"I am pretty hungry", Glenn added from the back seat.

"Me too", Daryl grunted.

Rick groaned, pinching his nose bridge between his thumb and index finger, "Great. Just great"

Shane snickered, "This is gonna' be fun"

Once they were back in the city, Rick was able to force Shane to stop at his home so he could get his own vehicle, and so that Glenn could relieve himself after such a long car ride. He was also able to call Michonne in the comfort, and privacy of his own vehicle.

"Hey!", She chirped, "You're back?"

"Yeah, I'm back. You okay?"

"Yeah, just left class. I have a ton of work to do"

Rick turned into the diner parking lot, immediately noticing Lori's car already there, "You still up for later?"

"Yeah, uh, actually I was going to ask if you didn't mind coming over? My mom's going out to eat with her friends, so it will just be me and Andre…"

His eyebrows sprung up, "Yeah sure. I don't mind that at all"

"Great. Say around seven?"

"Seven is fine by me"

"Alright"

Having parked his truck, Rick strolled into the eatery, ignoring the fact that his friends had taken a booth that gave them full view of where Lori was sat.

She smiled when she saw him, tucking her of hair behind her ear, "Hey"

"Hey", He breathed, taking a seat in front of her, "How are you?"

"I'm good. How was the trip?"

"It was good. It went well"

"Carl told me you gave him a call. I hope you didn't tell him too much..."

"I didn't. How's he been today?"

"He's been fine. Still getting used to his cast, but he's fine"

"He'll get the hang of it"

She rested her forearms on the table, "Is this about what I think it's about?"

He slowly nodded, "It is"

"...Well?"

His blue eyes locked onto her brown ones, "I should have never given you the impression that I'd even think about salvaging things between us Lori"

Her mouth fell agape.

"I'm sorry. I should have been upfront with you but it wasn't easy, and you know it isn't. I think you know the right thangs to say to me, and I can't allow that to happen anymore", He exhaled tiredly, "This whole thing has made me realise that I'm ready to move on. And not just because I've met someone, but because you only wanted to hold on to me when you knew I was wanted elsewhere, and that's not somethan' I want. I'd rather be alone than be on reserve to anyone"

Lori shook her head, "You have to understand, Rick-"

"You know what you meant to me, Lori. You did. And you've always used that in your favour"

"I wasn't ready to get back with you", She insisted, leaning forward as she lowered her voice, "But I didn't realise you were out looking for someone else-"

"I wasn't out looking for anythan'. That was the last thing I was doing, but I wasn't going to let her go. I should have handled thangs differently, and I have no problem admitting that because I know where I went wrong. But you're not innocent in this. You've never been innocent in this"

"I never said I was, okay? It's just…", She smoothed her hair back, "I don't know, I just didn't picture you moving on. I always thought you were going to be there"

"I know. And it's not entirely your fault for believing that because I've always allowed you to think that. I never stopped acting like your husband", He shook his head a little, annoyed with himself, "I was sitting there hoping… wishing thangs would go back to the way they were, and all that did was tire me out. Sitting there wondering if today would be the day you realise that we still had somethan special, then you'd call and I went running… I weren't happy, not even in the slightest, and I refuse to go back to that"

Lori looked away with wet eyes, "...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"Don't."

"No. I am", She insisted, reaching over and placing her hand on his, "I'm sorry. I was… I was wrong for that. I was selfish. You've always been willing to do anything for me and… and I took advantage of that"

His gaze dropped to her hands, "Yeah"

"...I want you to be happy. I do want you to. I don't want to be the reason you're not", She gave him a gentle squeeze, "But I just don't… I feel like I've lost you. Not just you as my husband but you as my friend, as my protector-"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be there for Carl as his father, and I'll always be there for you as his father", He ejected with a firmness, "That's all"

Some time passed before she nodded weakly, "I understand"

He sighed whilst pretending to reach in his jeans pocket for his phone, so he could remove his hand from beneath hers, when his eyes landed on a figure stood not far from their table.

Michonne slowly crossed her arms, her head tilting to the side as she stared him down. Rick almost frowned at her, wondering what she was doing there, and why she looked at him as if she wanted to put him in a chokehold, when it dawned on him that he appeared to be in quite a compromising position.

He was in his feet in the blink of an eye, "He-"

"That's your wife, isn't it?", Her tone was so cold that Rick would have sworn he saw frost around her lips.

He nodded, "It is, but…"

Rick only stopped talking because Michonne had stepped over the table, and in spite of the fact that he watched her snatch Lori's glass of water up, he still wasn't expecting to be doused in the liquid.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"...That's all that was. Nothing else. I know I should have handled that sooner but I was second guessing everythan'. Lori would say 'What if thangs didn't work out' between you and I, and I let that stick when I shouldn't have. I was scared that I was walking into another situation like the one I was in with her, and I feel like an idiot for thinking that now. I told you I didn't want my stuff to mess this up and I meant it. I went in there to meet her with that in mind and I planned on talking to her about the divorce… but then you walked in and… well, here we are"

Michonne continued to stare out the windshield of Rick's truck, still in the diner's parking lot.

"Can you look at me, please?"

She rolled her eyes over to the passenger side window. His hair was still damp, stuck to his forehead, but his plaid button down appeared dryer than before.

"The last thang I said to her before you walked in and saw her holding my hand, was that 'I'll always be there as Carl's father'. That was it from me"

She blinked unbelievably slow.

He sighed, bowing his head as his hands rested flat on the car door, "I want you to be able to trust me, Michonne. I'm not the kind of man to mess around or anythan' like that. I can be a little naive, sometimes I'm trying so hard not to hurt anybody, I end up hurting everybody, but that's never my plan, or my intention, and it certainly wasn't what I was trying to do here"

Her resolve was crumbling. She could see he was quite obviously trying his best to get his point across, but seeing his wife leaning across the table, trying to connect with him as she held his hand, left Michonne feeling very unpleasant.

"Are you gonna' say somethan'?"

Michonne exhaled, "Unlock the door, please?"

He lifted his head to look at her through narrowed eyes, "...You're not gonna' run off again, are you?"

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling, finding his question both sweet and amusing, "No, I won't"

"...Alright"

He unlocked the vehicle, and opened the door slowly, and Michonne didn't miss the way he used his body as a barrier, in case she did try to march away from him again.

She stepped out the car and folded her arms, "You should have told me-"

"You're right. I should have", He agreed, "You couldn't be more right about that"

'You said that you wouldn't-"

"I know, I know what I said"

"And that you wanted to-"

"I still want that. Nothing's changed, everythan' still stands"

She squinted at him, "Then why would you-"

"Because I'm an _ass_ , Michonne"

She missed the opportunity to bite back the smile that spread across her lips, "I know what you're doing, you're agreeing with everything I'm saying and telling me what I want to hear, but that doesn't change the fact that-"

"I messed up. I know…", He held his hands up in surrender, "I think we can both agree that we could have behaved better here"

She frowned at him, her head reeling back by an inch, "What did I do?"

"Washing my hair for me when I didn't ask?", He raised his eyebrows at her as he pointed to his still damp curls. Her smile returned, followed by a chuckle, which caused him to smile too, "You think this is funny?"

"That may have been a little childish on my part", She admitted, raising her hands in surrender, "And I apologise… I should have let you explain-"

"Yes, you should have-"

"But you should have told me, because then you wouldn't have to explain anything. If you told me you were going to meet her then I wouldn't have freaked out, Rick. Even though I didn't like how you handled things at the start of this, she's still Carl's mother and you still have to have some kind of relationship with her for the sake of your son. I understand that, and I would have understood whatever reason you had to meet her today, but walking in there and seeing that-"

"I know, I should have told you, but that meant nothing at all. I just need to reinforce some new boundaries when it comes to contact... but it was innocent, completely innocent ", He insisted for a countless time, resting both his hands at his sides, "And you also need to take into consideration that I'm liking you a whole lot right now."

She grew bashful, dropping her gaze to her boots, "I'm still annoyed, but yeah, I'm liking you a whole lot, too"

Before she knew it, his arms wrapped around her waist, and he lifted her into the air, causing her to squeal in delight, "Don't be annoyed with me. I've been waiting all week to do this"

"We are in the middle of the parking lot!", She hissed, holding on to his shoulders, "Everyone will see us-"

"Let them watch", He snickered whilst spinning her around, "I'm happy that I now know not to upset you when there's drinks around"

She threw her head back as she cackled, and Rick took the opportunity to bury his face in her neck, "Ah! Rick, stop-!"

"No", He muttered against her skin, "It's not like you have to go to work…"

Her smile fell, "That's not funny!"

He snickered, "I think it is-"

"My first day at work and I get fired before I even start"

"Why didn't you tell me that you were gonna' be working here?", He leaned back to look at her.

"I wanted it to be a surprise", She explained dryly.

"Well, I was surprised", He bit his lip as he grinned at her, and she couldn't resist the urge to smile back.

"Just great…", She sighed, looking past his when she saw someone nearby, and her smile swiftly vanished, "Uh, you might want to put me down now, Rick"

"The _hell_ I will", Michonne tipped her head in Lori's direction, and Rick glanced over his shoulder, only to exhaled tiredly as he put her down, "Do you wanna' wait for me in there?"

"Yeah, sure", She nodded, stepping past him, and subsequently Lori, to head back into the diner.

It was fair to say that Michonne needed to learn to trust Rick. He had been truthful to her about the situation with his wife previously, and he appeared honest a second time round, and so she hoped that there wouldn't be a third confrontation concerning his wife.

Once back inside the eatery, Michonne ignored the looks she received from other customers and went over to the booth where Shane, Daryl and Glenn were sat, "So, enjoy the show?"

They all froze with full mouths and wide eyes, and it was Daryl who spoke first, his top lip curling as he smirked, "Well, it was funny"

"It was, I knew you were gonna' get him", Shane snickered, "Didn't I say she was gonna' get him?"

"He did say that", Glenn confirmed flatly.

Michonne rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to Daryl, dropping her bag on the floor between her legs, "So how was the 'sting'?"

"Great. We got him"

She nodded, growing interested in the topic, "How do you track them?"

Glenn wiped his mouth with a napkin before he spoke, "A lot of stake outs"

"Ah, that sounds…"

"Yeah, that's the boring part", He joked, leading Michonne to snigger quietly.

"The fun part is chasing the son of a bitch", Shane boomed before taking a swig of his drink, "I love it when they run"

"Yeah? You weren't doing much of that yesterday", Daryl shot the man a scornful side-eye.

Shane's eyebrows shot up, "I wasn't gonna' run through the fields with you and Rick like we're in some kinda romance novel"

Glenn turned away from the table as a chuckle erupted from him while he was drinking his water, and laughter burst from Michonne's lips.

Shane was on a roll, "You should have seen them! All that was missing was the rain and a violin playing in the background"

Daryl wasn't impressed with his friend's jokes, evident in the scowl he wore, while Michonne and Glenn couldn't contain themselves.

"That's not the first time I've had to save the day either, one time the two of them were wrestling with this big fella, trying to pin him down on the floor, so what I did was grab the fire extinguisher, but I didn't notice that ol' boys pants were coming down, so when I sprayed them all, none of them could see anythan', so they're all grabbing each other until- "

"Oh boy", Rick sighed as he approached the table, "I'm glad I came in just in time to stop that story from going any further"

"Shane was just giving me feedback about your little 'operation' yesterday", She explained, trying to straighten up.

Rick's eyes darted to the man in question, who shrugged innocently. His eyes quickly crept back to Michonne, "Right… you ready to go?"

She reluctantly grabbed her backpack, "Yes"

"Aw! We were just getting started!", Glenn complained.

"I don't doubt that", Rick deadpanned.

"Bye guys", Michonne chirped as she slid out the booth.

"See ya'", Shane and Glenn called, while Daryl gave her a single nod.

"They're funny", She giggled to Rick, "You need to invite them around more"

"Never", He snorted, "They're the bane of my life"

Michonne wasn't expecting to have such an eventful afternoon, and she didn't know how she was going to explain to her mother that she was fired before she had even started her shift. She had planned on sitting the older woman down before she went out that evening, and disclosing all the gory details about her previous employment, but she decided she would wait until her mother returned home, hopefully intoxicated.

Still, she was glad to be in Rick's company again, and she was looking forward to spending some time with him, so it came as no surprise that merely an hour later she found herself lying beneath him, with his hands pinning back her thighs as he hammered her into the mattress.

Michonne had abandoned all hope of trying to control the sounds that left her mouth. She was sure that any neighbours nearby would soon alert the authorities as they feared she was in danger.

"How's that?", Rick growled in her ear, his pants tickling her skin.

She first wondered how he expected her to speak, and then she wondered how he was able to speak at all, whatever the reason, she was soon hoisted into the air and made to straddle him while he kneeled, and her mind was once again, blank.

"You okay?", He breathed, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her against him, while his other hand stayed clamped on her thigh, keeping her spread.

"Yea-", Her eyes snapped shut when he thrust in her, driving his length back into the depths of her heat.

"Yeah?", His lips brushed against hers as she clung to him, her arms laced around his neck. He seemed to enjoy the fact that he had put her in a trance, as a sly grin soon spread across his face, "You know, as much as I liked tasting you… and trust me, I _loved_ tasting you…"

Her words made her crotch ache.

"...In fact, I can't think of anythan' better than having your clit on my tongue…", He peered down between them, thrusting into her again, "…One of these days, you're gonna' have to take seat...on my mouth..."

Michonne's head rolled back as she bit her lip, making the tiniest whimpers.

Rick drug his teeth along her jaw, his tongue gently stroking over her skin when he reached her chin, "So I can eat properly..."

Michonne barely had a chance to absorb his words, as he repositioned his hold on her, and soon both her legs dangled over the crook of his arms, while his hands held her waist, "But for now, I think I love being inside you more…"

"Oh god", Was all she could mutter to herself before he resumed to the task of pounding her centre. She considered his endurance to be, quite literally, breath taking, but she couldn't allow him to have all the fun.

Michonne began to tighten her walls around him, quickly settling into a rhythm that matched his thrusts. Rick's hooded eyes instantly widened, his pupils at their largest, "J-Jesus…"

It was a small victory for Michonne, but she was not allowed to revel in her glory for long, as her orgasm was near, "Oh, fuck!"

He was relentless, holding her in place as he plunged in and out at lightning speed, cursing under his breath, all while she did her best to remember how to breath.

"I wanna' feel you break…"

He didn't need to ask twice, as she did, seconds later, leading her legs to quiver and her nails to claw at his shoulders. Rick found his release only moments after, shoving his full length inside her as his primal grunt bouncing off the walls in his bedroom. They collapsed back onto the mattress; his head nestled between her heaving bosom, while she lazily threaded her fingers through his hair, waiting for her heart rate to return to normal.

"I… I can't even remember why I was mad at you"

"That's fine by me", Rick chuckled against her, "We can just lay here for a while"

"Yeah…", She sighed happily, staring up at the ceiling fan, wondering how she would retrieve her G-string from the propeller, when an idea came to her, "Hey...I was thinking about what your friends said earlier-"

"You really don't wanna' do that"

She sniggered, "Stop that"

"I apologise for anythan' they said-"

"Your job sounds fun"

He stilled, his brow dropping to a straight line, "Oh. Well yeah it can be pretty interesting at times"

She looked down at the top of his head, "What do you have to do to get into that?"

He frowned, turning his head to peer at her strangely, "What do you have to do… to become a bounty hunter?"

"Yeah?", She nodded.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "...Are you asking for a friend?"

"I'm asking for myself…"

"...Is ' _myself_ ' a strange name of a friend of yours?"

"Rick! Tell me? Please?"

"Why?", He frowned at her, "What for?"

"Because I'm interested-"

"Michonne, look…", He shifted his position, resting on his forearms, "You know what kind of hours I work right now-"

"Yes."

"You know I'm always on duty, if I get a call right now then I have to go-"

"Yes. I know"

"And you have a young son-"

"I'm aware of that"

"Then what about that sounds appealing?"

"You don't work typical shifts, you're out hunting these guys down, and you can technically get these guys whenever you decide to strike and then your free until you get your next case. Plus, it seems to pay well. That sounds like the perfect job for someone who has other commitments", She countered, "Say I help you hunt down a guy for a couple hours every other day, then we go and get him at the end of the week… that's ideal. I could work less, and probably earn more"

He stared at her for a few moments, before finally responding dryly, "It's not that simple"

"Okay there's the element of danger to consider but there's the element of danger in everything, even riding the bus-"

"My job is a lot my dangerous than riding the bus-"

"You _know_ what I mean! Think about it, It makes sense-"

"I've been shot at before, Michonne", He informed flatly, "I've had guys pull out all kinds of weapons on me-"

"But yet you lay here in all your naked glory, unscathed", She motioned her hand in a sweeping motion, as if she were making as presentation of him.

A snort of laughter left him, "That's beside the point"

"So tell me all about it", She urged, her fingers still toying with his locks.

"I don't want you in harm's way, Michonne", He stressed, his eyes darting all over her face as he grew serious, "I know Shane probably made it sound like it was all fun and games, but he only sees it that way because he's a maniac. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job, I could even say I love it, but I don't want anyone I care about up front with me like that-"

"Rick, you care about Shane, Daryl and Glenn", She responded flatly.

"No, I don't. I've been trying to get rid of them for years now"

She wished she didn't find the man's sense of humour so alluring, but she did, and she was soon laughing at his jokes for the hundredth time, "Well I don't like hearing that you've been shot at before, or that you're wrestling with huge guys, but… I'm more than sure that you know what you're doing, and I couldn't think of anyone better to introduce me to all that stuff than you. Give me a chance to see if this is something I can do, because I might do it well"

It was obviously that he looked reluctant to agree, his eyes combing over her face for a time, before her finally exhaled tiredly, "We can just talk about it first-"

"Fine"

"We're not agreeing to anythan'-"

"Just talking. No agreeing..."

He groaned, "Alright. Alright."

"Yes", She grinned, "Tell me everything"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"I think I deserve a beer after all this damn painting"

Rick glanced over his shoulder at Shane, about to object, when Caro spoke up, "Yeah, can we take a break? I'm hungry"

"I could eat", Daryl agreed, already putting his paint roller down, "Where's the damn Pizza?"

Rick sighed as he stood back and looked over the wall he had nearly completed, "Alright. Fine"

"I'll give the place a call", Glenn growled, taking out his phone from his overalls as he perched on the ladder, "I ordered nearly an hour ago"

"Then it should be free. Let him take them take their time", Shane insisted, strolling out the room.

"It's coming along well, don't you think?", Rick peered down at his son as they too left the room.

"Yeah. I can't wait till we get my stuff back in here, it'll look fucking awesome", Carl grinned.

"It will look fucking awesome, and watch your mouth"

"Got it", His son sighed, jumping up on the counter in the kitchen area, "I was thinking about dying my hair"

All the men in the room froze, looking at the boy with confessed expressions, before Rick finally uttered a dry, "What?"

"Yeah. I want like black, kinda midnight blue colour…", Carl explained.

"You wanna die your hair blue?", Shane's upper lip curled as he repeated the claim, "Like one of them boys in them rock bands on the TV?"

Carl began to snicker, "You sound so old right now"

"Your hair's fine. You don't need to dye it", Rick stated firmly as he opened the fridge, "What's wrong with your brown hair?"

"It's boring, dad"

"You think my hair's boring?"

Carl's eyes darted to his father's hair, and the teen huffed, "You're not completely brown… I see a few silver-"

"I dare you to finish that sentence", Rick warned, pointing at the young boy, "It's not too late to paint your room pink"

Carl burst out laughing, "Never mind then"

"I went blonde when I was a kid. Worst decision ever", Glenn shuddered at the memory, as he joined the teen on the counter, "I looked like an idiot"

"He did", Shane agreed from the couch, "He really did"

The doorbell rang, and Rick stepped over to answer it, much to Glenn and Carl's excitement, "It should be free!"

"It better be", Rick muttered, taking hold of her door handle and yanking it open, but immediately coming to a halt when he caught sight of the man holding their order, "Oh great"

Mike slowly inhaled as he shifted his stance, holding out the boxes, "Here"

"Glenn!", Rick called, taking the boxes from the man he couldn't stand.

"That's thirty dollars"

Rick raised an eyebrow at him, "You're thirty minutes late"

Mike narrowed his eyes at him, "There was traffic"

Glenn appeared, and gleefully took the pizza's in his hands, "Finally"

"Glenn, what did the lady on the phone say about delivery when you placed the order?", Rick asked his friend, not taking his eyes off Mike.

"Uh, she said it should come in thirty minutes or it's free", Glenn answered, backing away from the door.

"See?"

Mike looked Rick from head to toe as he snarled at him, "You really think you're something, don't you?"

"Now what gave you that impression?"

The younger man began to move away from the door, "Whatever, just stay away from my son"

His face crumbled with confusion, "What's Andre got to do with this?"

Mike stopped, "If you want to get in with Michonne then I can't do anything about that, but you don't use my son to do that-"

"I would like to think I wouldn't even have to do such thang", Rick slowly folded his hands over his chest, "But that's her son too, she's the one that has him ninety-nine percent of the time and I accept that, so if spending more time with her means spending more time with him, then I'm not going to ignore him."

"Andre has a father, he doesn't need any other man around to confuse him-"

"I've spent maybe twenty minutes with him?", Rick squinted as he thought about it, "So if you think that's all it takes for a two year old to start to worry about who their father is then maybe you should spend more time with him, you might learn a thang or two about kids"

Mike's face darkened, "What? What are you talking about? Not that it's any of your business but I spend plenty of time with my son, so watch your mouth"

Rick's eyebrows sprung up as he scoffed, "Clearly not enough if you didn't even know he had a peanut allergy-"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"No, you don't, but keep this up, and you will have to explain yourself to Andre when he's old enough", Rick stepped back and slammed the door closed, raking his fingers through his hair as soon as he turned back to his apartment, "Asshole"

"What happened?", Glenn probed, "Who was that?"

"Yeah, dad?", Carl was looking at him with a wide, shocked eyes.

Rick exhaled, "A friend of… a friend"

"Who's his son?", Glenn probed further.

Rick wished there was a way that he could give his friend a discrete signal to stop prying, "Michonne's son"

"Oh", Shane, Glenn and Daryl all replied in unison as they cringed and it was Shane who patted Rick on his shoulder as headed out the kitchen with a slice of pizza in his hand, "Good luck with that"

"I don't get it?", Carl looked lost in the discussion.

Rick ruffled the boy's hair, "It's nothing, he's insecure. Come on, let's eat before it gets cold"

The idea of telling Carl about he and Michonne had crossed Rick's mind on a few occasions, but he was choosing to wait until the two of them had settled into their new relationship before doing so. He did want them to become acquainted with each other in the meantime, just so that when he did break the news to his son, he didn't feel as if Michonne was a complete stranger. However, it was something he planned on discussing with her first, so he called her later that night with that in mind.

"Sorry about that, Andre does this thing... he likes to sleep on his face and it scares me, so I have to flip him over like a pancake"

Rick chuckled, sitting back on his couch, "It's fine.

"So, how's your weekend going?", Her tone was sweet, and he could easily imagine her smiling as she spoke

"It's going good. We painted Carl's room today"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. It actually looks great, if I don't say so myself"

"Of course", She sniggered.

He sighed as he prepared to tell her the next piece of information, "So a funny thang happened today while we were painting… we ordered a pizza and Mike turned up"

"Mike? Which Mike? Andre's dad?"

"That's the one. He delivered our pizza, and long story short-"

"No 'long story short' please"

He issued a barely audible groan, "He was late, told him I wasn't going to pay him, he said somethan' along the lines of 'I think I'm somethan'' and I said 'how', then he said 'stay away from Andre' and you can figure out how the conversation went after that…"

"...What is wrong with him?", It didn't sound as if she expected a genuine answer from Rick, but he answered anyway.

"Plenty of thangs from what I've seen"

Michonne was silent on the other end of the line, which only made Rick a little nervous.

"Don't get upset or anythan'-"

"I'm not. I'm just annoyed", She responded coldly, "I haven't even spoken to him since he put Andre in hospital"

Rick frowned at the muted TV in front of him, "Seriously?"

"I'll probably hear from him soon though", It sounded as if she muttered the words to herself.

"...Just talk to him about Andre and nothing else. He needs to realise that he's the most important thang between the two of you, and maybe if he spent more time with him, he wouldn't feel so threatened at the idea of another man around his son"

"It's easier said than done with Mike. He gets on my damn nerves"

"I second that", He heard her giggle, which immediately made him smile, "Hey, speaking of kids and all that, how about we do somethan'? Like we did at the fair with the boys?"

"...Like at the fair?"

"Yeah. Minus my brother...and Maggie"

"So the four of us?"

"Yeah. Nothing formal, just a chance for everyone to get to know each other better"

"That sounds like a good idea, but what about Carl? Won't he pick up on something?"

Rick frowned as he thought about it, "Honestly, I don't know. He can be really intuitive, picking up on the smallest details, thangs that no one else would even think to notice, or he's brick. There's no in between with him"

Michonne laughed heartily down the line, "Aw! Leave him alone!"

"I can swear that's the truth because I'm pretty sure he got that from me", He ran his hand over his face as he sighed, "How about tomorrow? You doing anythan'?"

"...Uh, No? Nothing"

"We can head over to the park? Carl wanted to try and get back on his skateboard, I think he wants to see if he can break the other wrist too"

"...Fine. But… don't tell him. Let it be like last time. We'll just bumped into each other, casually"

Rick bit his lip, trying not to chuckle at her, "Are you being serious?"

"I don't want to come across as his dad's 'pushy girlfriend', I want him to think I'm cool in my own right"

The chuckled escaped, "He already thinks you're cool. He actually said to me 'I didn't know you had cool friends' after he met you"

"Really?", She sounded pleased.

Rick could barely contain himself, "He's already sold on you"

"Maybe I should bring my skateboard and seal the deal?"

"Hold on, you said his dad's girlfriend?", Rick didn't think he could produce a smile so wide, but he did, "Is that what you go by now?"

"Uh… I said that, didn't I?", Her tone was at its highest pitch.

"I really like the sound of that"

He truly did like that she was referring to herself as his girlfriend, and he couldn't wait for the opportunity to use the term himself.

With a clear idea for their plan the next day, Rick woke up and went about his morning normally. He and Carl sat in front of the TV eating cereal out of mixing bowls, like they often did, then began moving the boys furniture back into his room. Rick was glad to finally have the task done, and it made his heart swell to see his son so pleased with the outcome. It made him realise that he wanted his son to spend more time in his home with him, and two nights a week didn't quite feel like enough.

By the time they were done in his room, afternoon was approaching, so they set out to the park for Carl to regain his confidence on his skateboard. Rick didn't particularly want to see his son back on the equipment that instrumented in his broken wrist, but Carl was determined, and much like him, stubborn.

"I saw this bracelet that I think mom might like"

Rick peered at his sun as he shelled his eyes from the sun, "Yeah? How much?"

"I'll check", Carl replied, pushing himself along on his board, "She decided she wants to go out to dinner for her birthday. Will you come?"

"Uh, I'll have to check if I can, if I'm not working", And even if Rick wasn't, he'd make sure that he was.

"I think she already invited aunt Lauren"

It took a lot for Rick not to roll his eyes, "Oh? That's great"

"...It would be nice if we could do stuff like that more… You, me and mom? Like the old days?"

"Yeah?", He raised a curious eyebrow at his son, taken aback by the request.

"Yeah. I liked when you were there for dinner"

Rick began to slow in his stride, "We can do thangs like that, if that's what you want, but… but me and your mom are still getting a divorce, you know that, right?"

Carl stopped, looking up at his father, "...I know but we're still a family. You said that"

"We are. We're still a family"

A small smile graced his son's face, and while Rick was in no rush to spend time with Lori after their last encounter, he would have to grin and bear it for the boy.

"I think I can start doing tricks again-"

"Are you trying to see how many casts you can get at once?", Rick quizzed dryly, "How about you just get used to it again? Or maybe just find a bike to ride… somethan' safer"

"That's boring", Carl snorted.

"There's nothing wrong with boring. It means safe"

"You say this is dangerous but you're out at night catching the bad guys", His son countered, wearing a sly grin.

"That's different. I'm a highly trained, highly skilled officer of the night", Rick insisted proudly, "When you're a highly trained, highly skilled skateboarder of the day, then we can talk"

"...You think your friend can teach me?"

"You'd have to ask her"

"Okay", Carl jumped off the board, "Hey Michonne!"

Rick frowned as he looked around them, not expecting to pretend to bump into her so soon. He soon spotted her nearby, strolling with Andre in front of her. His eye involuntarily fell to her legs, as she wore a pair of denim shorts beneath a large jersey. With maximum effort, he forced his gaze to stay on her face, "Hey…"

"Fancy seeing you here?", She smiled, stopping in front of them.

"Yeah. Who would have thought?", He replied, crouching down to Andre's level, and he quickly frowned, "Why have you got a leash on him?"

"It's not a leash. It's a harness"

"It looks like a leash"

"It's a harness"

"Don't like it", Andre announced, his little fingers trying to pry the reins from his chest.

Rick sighed for him, "I don't blame you, buddy"

"How's your arm?", Michonne asked the older boy.

"It's okay", Carl replied glancing down at his cast.

"Has your dad taught you how to get rid of an itch yet?"

"No…"

"Chopsticks. They work a treat"

"Really?", Carl's brows knitted together in disbelief.

She nodded, her ponytail bouncing, "Yep. But be careful though, you push it down too far and your doctor will have quite the surprise when they take the cast off"

"Sounds like you've experienced that first hand?", Rick teased, while swiftly plucking a blade of grass from Andre before he could put it in his mouth, "You really don't want to eat that"

"Do you still have your skateboard?", Carl queried, tilting his head at Michonne.

"I do, but I don't get much of a chance to use it", She responded regretfully, "I can show you a few tricks though? Simple ones, nothing that will send you to the emergency room again"

The boy's eyes lit up, "Awesome"

"Now let's see…", She scanned the area around them, "How about over there? I can put Andre on the swings-"

"I'll take him", Rick offered, already fiddling with the clasps of his harness, "Let him be free for a while"

"Okay... But make sure you hold him or else-"

"I got it", He was soon tugging the straps off Andre, and before he could even blink, the toddler had bolted in the other direction, leading Rick to start after him, muttering to himself, "Goddammit"

"Told you!"

"You didn't tell me he was a cheetah!", Rick found himself running to catch the little boy, scooping him up in his arms when he was near enough. Andre giggled wildly, as if it were the funniest thing, while Rick gave him a serious look, "Why on earth do they call you peanut?"

"Am peanut", He touched his hand to his chest.

"Well I'm calling you Rocket", Rick snickered, walking back to the others.

"Rocket!", Andre pointed up to the sky.

"That's right. You run any faster and you'll be right up there with the rest of 'em", He slowed as he approached Michonne and Carl, "You need to put him on a track, or attach a sledge to him like one of those huskies in Alaska"

"Very funny", Michonne deadpanned.

"I'm gonna' take him over. Pay attention Carl"

"Got it", Carl sighed dramatically.

Michonne fluttered her fingers at him as she waved, "Alright"

Rick carried the little boy over to the playground, with the intention of putting him on the swings first, but Andre swiftly objected, "No! Don't like it!"

"You don't like swings?"

"No"

Rick eyed the toddler for a moment, "How about you just sit in it then? I won't push you, you can just sit there"

Andre's big brown eyes looked down at the swinging seat, then back at Rick, and he gave him a nod of an approval.

It was a strange sight, but he put Andre in the swing and the boy seemed content to be stationary, which was actually quite amusing to Rick, "I guess you get a whole different type of fulfilment from coming to the park. How about I just push you a little bit, like this…"

Andre's eyes widened as he began to push him gingerly, but he didn't object, and after a few moments he even began to smile.

"There we go, ain't this nice?", Rick beamed down at the boy, just as he felt his phone vibrate in his jeans pocket. He took hold of the device with his free hand, and took a deep breath when he saw it was Lori calling, "Yeah?"

"Hey, how's it going?", The woman breathed, sounding as if she had prepared herself to speak to him too.

"Good… what's going on?"

"Uh, well I need to ask a favour… would you mind keeping Carl for an extra night? And dropping him to school tomorrow?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind. I'd be happy to"

"Oh great, thanks. I have a job interview in the morning and I was hoping one of the other moms could pick him up for me-"

"It's fine. I don't have any problem with that, I actually wanted to talk to you about the schedule we have now"

"Oh? What about it?"

"I wanted to see if we could amend that, so I can have a little more time with him since I only get him for two and a half days out of the whole week"

"Well that's because we never know when you're going to be called in for work"

"Well my Monday mornings are always quiet, and you know that, so how about he stays with me over the weekend and then I drop him at school Monday and you pick him up?"

"The plan for today is just a one off-"

"It doesn't have to be though"

The woman was silent, and Rick could easily imagine her eyes darting all over the place as she considered his request.

"Too much!", Andre cried, raising his hands in the air to get Rick's attention.

"You've had enough?", Rick stopped the swing, and reached around the boy's middle to pull him free, "Alright, let's go find somethan' else"

"Down the slide"

"We'll go down the slide then"

"Where are you?", Lori questioned.

"At the park. Carl's getting back on his skateboard", Rick replied, carrying Andre across the playground.

"...That doesn't sound like Carl"

"Because it's not", He spoke dryly, his brow dropping to a straight line, as if the woman could see him.

"So where's Carl?"

"He's on his skateboard. So uh, listen, how about you think about everythan' and get back to me when you-"

"Why are you being so secretive?", Lori did nothing to hide her annoyance, "I'd think after everything that happened at the diner, you would be a little more honest with the women in your life"

Rick almost frowned at the phone, "I'm not being dishonest with you, and I'm not being secretive either, you asked where I was and I told you, you asked where Carl was and I told you-"

"You know what I mean, Rick"

"I have to go, Lori. I'll give you a call in the week"

"Fine.", She snapped, hanging up the phone a second later.

Rick growled as he shoved his phone back in his pocket, uttering under his breath, "Just what I need"

Andre watched him with a curious expression, with one of his hands clinging on to his shirt.

He gave him a large smile, "Let's get you on this slide. We won't let her ruin our fun"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

"What is this about? Did something happen? Oh god, you're not pregnant again, are you?!"

Michonne looked at her mother with sheer horror as she sat Andre on the floor between her legs, "No, mom. I'm not pregnant again"

"Oh, good", Her mother huffed, "I have to ask now that you're courting someone"

"Courting? Did you just say courting?", Michonne began to giggle, "Don't you mean dating?"

"You know what I meant", She responded dryly, "Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

Michonne hesitated for the briefest moment, "I need to tell you quite a few things… and I'd appreciate it if you just let me get it all off my chest before you say anything, okay?"

"...Go ahead", Her mother sat back on the couch, "I'm all ears"

"Okay, well, I have lied to you about my last two jobs. I wasn't a bartender, I was a dancer…", Michonne watched her mother's reaction closely, "Not in the nude or anything but I… I danced, and I got fired because I got caught messing around with Rick…"

The woman's face seemed to be frozen in a stunned expression.

"And I did get the job at the diner, but then I got fired before I even started because… well, I overreacted over something Rick did…", Michonne inhaled deeply, "And I was going to start looking for another job but I've been thinking about becoming a bounty hunter… Rick reluctantly told me all about it and it seems like something that I'd be interested in. I want to work in law enforcement anyway so I think this… this could help"

Her mother's expression hadn't changed at all.

Michonne grew frightened when the woman didn't blink, "I'm done-"

"Wait, you were a dancer that whole time?!", It seemed that she finally began to absorb all the information Michonne had fed her, "Do you know how dangerous that is? You could have been attacked! You were working all hours of the night! A-and you got fired for messing around? What does that mean?"

Michonne visibly cringed, "It means what it sounds like it means, mom-"

"Oh, Michonne", Her mother shook her head with disappointment, "And you lost your other job because of something to do with him too?"

"No! No, that was all me, both times it was my fault, he didn't do anything wrong besides being there", Michonne insisted, "Look mom, I know this all sounds really bad-"

"It is all really bad! You meet this guy in a club where you dance, lose that job, then you lose another one and you don't tell me anything- Why do you lie to me Michonne?"

"Because I don't want to upset you, mom! I want you to be proud of me, and to see that I am trying to keep things on track, and I know it might seem like I've made a lot of stupid decisions lately but I'm seriously trying to get things together for me and Andre. I need to be able to take care of the two of us on my own and I'm going to make sure that I can", Michonne glanced in her son's direction when he began placing his toys on her lap, "...I just don't want you to think that everything you're doing for us is in vain, because it's not. I appreciate everything you've done and I won't let you down"

Her mother peered at her with warm eyes, "I am proud of you, Michonne, and I don't want you to ever think that I'm not, and I believe that you will be able to take care of you and Andre, without a shadow of a doubt, but you need to stop shutting me out. You shouldn't feel like you need to hide things from me, because I'm here to help and I'm here to listen, that's all part of my job description as your mother"

Michonne began to smile, "Thanks-"

"So what _else_ are you lying to me about?", Her mother crossed one leg over the other as she pursed her lips, "What other secret life are you living behind my back? Because that's what you did, and now I feel like I don't even know my own child"

She stared at the older woman blankly, "Seriously?"

"You know, I used to wonder why you always gave me one's", The woman rolled her eyes at the realisation, "And now he's got you wanting to be a bounty hunter?"

"...I guess you can say that-"

"Aren't they like the police? Don't they get shot at a lot?"

Michonne looked away from her as she tried not to lie, "I can't recall if I ever heard him say anything about that"

"Well I would like to do some research on that, It doesn't sound safe for a young mother-"

"He's really good at what he does, mom. I don't think I could get anyone better to train me…"

"Of course you'd say that", Her mother scooped Andre up in her arms when the boy wandered over to her, "I don't know why your mother couldn't choose a safer job, right peanut?"

"Am rocket", Andre corrected, placing his hand to his chest.

"Rocket? Since when?"

Michonne sank down in her seat, "...I took him to the park with Rick and his son the other day…"

Her mother's eyes darted over to her, "Oh? I didn't know about that either?"

"Yeah…"

"And how was that?"

"It was great. It was nice getting to know his son, and seeing them together. It was his idea, just a chance for us all to get better acquainted"

"How was Andre with him?"

Michonne looked to her son, "What did you think of Rick, Andre?"

Her son grinned, "Rocket!"

His grandmother mimicked his expression as she rubbed his back lovingly, "So I take it you had fun?"

The toddler nodded, though Michonne doubted he could completely recall the event, "So how about we all go out to dinner one day? You, me, Andre...Rick? You could see for yourself that he's not a bad influence on me or anything like that..."

Her mother's eyes quickly found her again, "The four of us? Out to dinner?...Aren't you afraid I'd embarrass you?"

"Yes", She answered honestly, "But, I think it would be good if you got to know him, so I'm willing to take one for the team"

The woman seemed to consider the idea, "It would give me a chance to grill him personally"

"...Mom-"

"Alright. We'll do dinner, you let him know"

Michonne only felt a small amount of regret for suggesting they went out to dinner, since she knew her mother was being completely honest about grilling Rick. The woman could be relentless, shamelessly asking bold questions when she felt it necessary and it was only right that she warned Rick beforehand, so she did later that night on the phone.

"...When you say you told her everythan', does that mean-"

"Everything", Michonne stressed, sitting back against the headboard on the bed.

Rick took a moment to reply, "Is throwing drinks a hereditary reaction in your family or-"

"My mom will not throw a drink at you, Rick", She giggled, "I think she just wants to feel you out for herself-"

"That makes me nervous, Michonne"

"It will be fine, just be yourself, you'll win her lover"

"That's a terrible idea"

She glanced in Andre's direction when she saw him move on the bed, "So Andre really likes his new name"

"I don't understand why you'd give him a name like peanut in the first place. That's a stationary object and he's an unstoppable force"

"I warned you-"

" _He_ needs to be wearing a warning. Get him a shirt that says _'Do not put me on the ground unless you like to run_ '"

"I'll be sure to get one made…", She chuckled quietly, hoping not to wake the toddler, "So did Carl say anything about me?"

Rick snickered down the line, "He talks about you like you're one of his friends. I'm actually quite upset that he no longer sees me as the coolest person he knows"

"I'm sorry, but I'm happy for myself"

"Yeah, of course you are. How's your knee?"

She peered down at the new graze, "It's fine, I've done worse"

"That's not somethan' you should say so proudly", He replied flatly, "I don't understand the fascination with skateboarding-"

"I know, I know", She agreed hurriedly, remember that there was another important topic she wished to discuss with him, "But hey, when are we going to the shooting range?"

Rick was silent for a time.

"Rick?!", She hissed.

He groaned, "Can't I just talk to Anne about you giving you another chance? _Away_ from water?"

"No, Rick"

He groaned a second time, "...We'll go after you finish class-"

"Yes!", She cheered quietly, "And when do I get to come with you on a job?"

"Not anytime soon Michonne-"

"You said that if you find the right mentor then you can tag along to see how things work since that's what you did-"

"I lied"

"Rick!"

"Alright! I'll talk to Daryl, see if we have any little jobs… then you can tag along but you won't be doing anythan', just watching from a safe distance… maybe with Glenn"

"Okay", She chirped excitedly.

It wasn't as if Michonne didn't understand her boyfriend's hang ups about training her; she knew that his job could be dangerous when dealing with people who were evading the law, but knowing that only made it appeal to her more, and the possibility of working beside him fuelled her interest further.

The next day continued on as per usual for Michonne. She left for college in the morning, dropping Andre at day-care along the way before heading to class. It was suffice to say that she was in a relatively good mood throughout a majority of the day with the previous weekend on her mind. Having a chance to converse with Rick's son on her own was something she was glad to do, though she couldn't help but feel you a little uneasy whenever he mentioned his mother.

After what had happened at the dinner, Michonne knew she would have to behave more rationally when it came to Rick's soon to be ex-wife, especially after what he had told her about the women. She suspected that Lori wasn't ready to let go of Rick so easily, but he seemed hell bent on proving that the feeling wasn't mutual, so as far as Michonne was concerned, she had no other reason to doubt him.

It was while she was lost in the thought about the situation that she stumbled into Mike outside her classroom, and her good mood swiftly soured.

"I've been meaning to talk to you", He began, shifting from foot to foot, "Can we go somewhere?"

Michonne looked him from head to toe, his incident with Rick at the forefront of her mind. She spun on her heel and started in the opposite direction, but Mike knew to follow her. It was safe to say that she wasn't a fan of his behaviour over the last few weeks, though she hadn't ever been pleased with his attitude towards fatherhood in its entirety.

She'd be the first person to hold her hands up to admit that they were silly to create their son under such poor circumstances, but she truly believed that they would be able to parent Andre together, since they had been such close friends beforehand. However, the arrival of their child proved otherwise, and the patience she had for Mike initially had slowly evaporated.

"...I'm sure your friend probably told you what happened…", Mike began to speak once again when they were stood near the parking lot, "...It was stupid of me-"

"It was", She ejected dryly, her arms folded over her chest and she looked at him through narrowed eyes.

He sighed, "Michonne, things haven't been easy for me when it comes to being a father. I know I haven't done enough for him and that I should spend more time with him but it's hard when I don't have much to offer. I don't know how to be a dad, and I don't have my parents there to help out, and it makes me feel lousy"

She continued to stare at him, "You haven't even called to see how he is"

"Because I got a job. I've started taking these independent acting classes and I'm hoping that it will help-"

"You got a job so you can pay for more acting classes?", She snapped, "That's why you got a job? Not to help provide for your son? Not so you can afford to take him to the aquarium or the zoo-"

"I can still do that stuff with him-"

"Yeah, after you've gotten what you want first!", She looked at him with pure disgust, "Mike, you are pathetic"

His head jerked back in shock, "What-"

"I don't want to hear a sob story, or about your acting classes! You had no right to say a thing to Rick when you don't even do the bare minimum for Andre! You should be glad that there's someone out there that's even interested in your son-"

"I may not be the best Michonne, but I'm still his father", Mike insisted firmly.

"Then _act_ like it!", She easily matched his tone, "And stop hiding behind those sorry excuses! Spend more time with him, take him out every once and awhile, buy him more than just a piece of candy or some stupid soft toy that you picked up at the corner store on the way over to my house! When you start doing all of that, then your opinion on who I allow around him might hold some weight, but until then, I don't want to hear it!"

Mike squinted at her, "You used to be understanding and you knew that it wasn't easy for me, but it's like your whole attitude has changed since he came around-"

"That's because he cares! He cares enough to ask me how our child is doing, he was willing to come along and wait at the hospital for Andre when it was his weekend with his own son, and he…", She scoffed in disbelief, "He spent almost an hour playing on the slide with Andre at the park because that's his favourite thing! Even I try to get Andre to try something else but he didn't, he just kept playing with him until Andre was ready to go and it's things like that just made me realise what a dad is meant to do-"

"He's not his dad-"

"I know he's not his dad! But Andre deserves someone like him! Not you!", Her eyes stung as she took a deep breath, tired of yelling at him, "So you need to get your act together because I'm sick and tired of you, and Andre will be too"

Mike didn't attempt to say anything further as she stalked away from him, and she was glad to have left him stumped. She couldn't pinpoint why she felt so overcome with emotion, but she wouldn't put it past the fact that it could have been because of the relationship she shared with her deceased father. Feelings of sadness that she had buried years ago tried to resurface, but she fought to repress them once again when she saw Rick stood by his truck, already waiting for her.

"What just happened there?", He immediately questioned when she was near enough to hear him.

She shook her head, "Nothing worth repeating right now, so let's go-"

"Hold on a second", He raised his hand to stop her from getting in his truck. She exhaled tiredly as she did what she was told, and he used the chance to examine her face, "What's the matter?"

"Honestly...I'm still pretty pissed off", She answered truthfully, "So can we just go?"

His blue eyes continued to study her closely, "But we will talk about it, right?"

"Yeah. Sure", She nodded, stepping around his hand, "Let's go"

If there was anyone she would talk to about her secret heartache, it would be Rick because she felt she could disclose such a thing with him, but not in that moment, when just the thought of saying the words out loud put a lump in her throat.

They left the college grounds in silence, with Rick occasionally steering a glance at her, obviously desperate to probe further, but he did well not to, "How was your day?...Before that?"

"Good", She answered softly, staring out the windshield, "Yours?"

"Not bad... well, I mean, I accidentally knocked my brother unconscious when he let himself in my apartment this morning without warning...but otherwise, it's been good"

She looked at him with a blank expression.

"He snuck up on me. It was a knee jerk reaction"

"To punch him?"

"He's growing a beard, he looked like a completely different person"

A small smile appeared on her face, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he landed on the rug. Well, I mean he hit the coffee table on the way down but… he landed on the rug after", He began to snicker evilly.

"You shouldn't laugh", She scolded him lightly, trying to suppress a chuckle herself.

"But I will. That's what he gets for sneaking into my house with his new face"

She huffed as her smile widened, "I guess that's what siblings are for right? To help you test your reflexes?"

"Pretty much", He snuck another peak at her, "So would it be wise to put a weapon in your hand anytime soon?"

"Yes. I want to do this"

"I don't doubt that, but I think they might be worried if you put up a picture of Mike on the target"

"The temptations there", She smirked, shaking her head in despair, "He just doesn't get it and I'm scared that he never will"

"...You think it's going to have a negative affect Andre?"

"I know it will. My dad was… I just knew that he was interested in everything else but me, but that didn't stop me from chasing after him…", The thought made her frown in annoyance, "I was so upset when he died because I felt like I never got a chance to have a dad like everybody else did…"

Rick stopped at the red light and peered at her, "...Andre's pretty lucky. He already has you, he has his grandmother, he has Maggie...You all lavish him with love and attention, and sometimes that's a big distraction, you don't have to look elsewhere because you get more than enough at home"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, "And if it's not enough?"

"...Then I'll be there to top it up"

Her eyebrows shot up at his candour, "...Are you planning on sticking around that long?"

He scoffed at her as he began driving again, "If your mom lets me"

A chuckle burst from her lips, "You have to pass a grilling from Marie first"

"Come on, let's practise, I want to get all my answers right", He sniggered, flashing her one of his contagious smiles as they pulled into the shooting range parking lot.

"You want to practise?", She teased, unable to stop giggling at him.

"We have to practise. I already won Andre over, which was more of a physical test than anythan' else, so now it's just your mom. Does she need bank statements? Proof of my credit score? A copy of my lease?"

"No…", She rolled her eyes at him playfully, "Just a blood sample, she'll find out the rest"

"That makes me even more nervous, Michonne", He responded dryly as he stopped the car.

"Just be yourself, Rick"

"That's still a terrible idea"

She reached up and cupped his cheek after unfastening her seatbelt, "You are funny, and sweet, and my mom will see that and she will like you"

"And if she doesn't? What if she doesn't find me funny or sweet?"

She froze, her eyes darting away from him for a brief moment, "...Maybe we _should_ practise-"

"Exactly."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

"I really shouldn't be surprised to get these from you so soon…"

Rick kept his hands at his sides as he watched Lori flip through the divorce papers, her eyes scanning over the sheets. It was difficult for him to pinpoint just how she felt about receiving them, but he was sure she would let him know soon enough, "I thought it was time"

Her eyes darted up to meet his at lightning speed, "Because of your new girlfriend?"

He gave her a one sided shrug as he agreed, "Partly"

She slowly inhaled as she crossed her arms, tucking the papers out of view, "You know what? Fine, I can accept that. You've met someone and you're having fun, and that's great! I'm learning to be happy for you, but what I don't get is why you're being so secretive about her-"

"What else do you need to know besides the fact that she's there?", He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Carl told me that he was skateboarding with her?", She tipped her head to the side as she eyed him suspiciously, "How old is she? I mean, she certainly looked young-"

"Are you asking him about her?", Rick's brows furrowed while he shifted his position.

Lori hesitated to answer right away, "I asked him what he did on the weekend with you and he told me... She has a son too?"

"I feel as if I've made it pretty clear that I don't want to discuss any of this with you-"

"I have a right to know who you have around our son-"

"You know who she is to me and that's all you need to know. Oh, and the fact that she doesn't have a criminal record, so you have nothing to worry about"

"If it was the other way around then you would want to know about whatever man I brought home-"

"I'll be here to pick up Carl as usual tomorrow", Rick began to walk back to his car, "Goodbye Lori"

"You are being ridiculous!", His soon to be ex-wife snapped from the doorway of her home.

It didn't come as a surprise to Rick that she would somehow manage to squeeze Michonne into the conversation, or squeeze information out of their son, as it was something his wife was capable of, but despite what she said or asked, he wouldn't allow himself to discuss his girlfriend with her no matter what she did.

He left the quiet residential street to return to his own home, eager to get ready for his meal with Michonne's mother, which he wasn't as nervous about since they had spent most of the week preparing any chance they got. Marie had already given him the impression that she wasn't a woman that took nonsense lightly after their first encounter, and while he considered himself to be a honest man in general, he hoped his previous problem of withholding information, wouldn't come back to bite him while face to face with the woman.

The first thing he did when he stepped foot into his apartment was pull his t-shirt over his head, about to head straight to the shower, when he found himself at the receiving end of multiple eyes, "What the hell are you all doing here?!"

"I thought you were home, I came over to give you some stuff", Jeffrey explained from the couch, "Then these three came over too"

"What's going on here?", Shane snickered, lowering a beer bottle from his mouth as he leaned on the kitchen counter, "Why'd you run in here like that? You got Michonne coming over? That's why you ripped your shirt off like that?"

"Like a damn Chippendale's dancer or somethan'...", Daryl joked from his recliner, causing Glenn you chuckle at him.

"Leave! Now!", Rick ordered, marching towards his bedroom, "I have to get ready to head out-"

"Yeah you have a date, don't you? Where you taking her?", Shane quizzed.

"I'm taking her to dinner with her mother"

The room fell silent for a time, and Rick could imagine his friends and brother were sharing unsure looks with each other, before Shane spoke again, "Her mother? You know what that means don't you?"

"Yes. It means I'm getting to know her mother and she's getting to know me-"

"No! That's what they want you to think!", Shane appeared at his bedroom door, "But the truth is, your whole relationship is riding on those two or three hours that you spend performing like a dancing monkey to impress her. If mama don't like you, then say goodbye to Michonne"

"I've already had this discussion with Michonne-"

"Remember Heather? Jasmine? _Rosita_? All of their mothers didn't like me and it just killed the relationship-"

"In their defence, it's very hard to like you", Rick smirked, pulling out shirts from his closet.

"I'm the most lovable son of a bitch you will ever meet", Shane raised a pointed finger in Rick's direction, "So you better take that back"

"Leave!", Rick ignored him, holding out a black shirt in front of him, "All of you-"

"We ordered pizza though!", Glenn complained from somewhere in his home.

"Does she know about you and Lori? Did Michonne tell her that?", Shane continued, raising his dark brows.

"She told her everythan', even thangs I didn't think her mother should know", Rick laid the shirt down on his bed.

"She's gonna' ask you about Lori, I bet you she will"

"I've already gone over everythan' with Michonne, so can you please let me get ready in peace while I think?"

Shane threw his hands up in surrender as he backed away from the door, "Alright, fine, but remember, don't make too much of a big deal about paying the bill, just take it quietly, women don't like all that showy stuff-"

"Leave!", Neither of his friends or his brother left, and instead they continued to feed him bits of unwanted information, despite his protests.

Once he had his shower, he put on his shirt with a pair of black pants, and left the men in his home, with strict instructions to tidy up before they finally left themselves. He glanced at his watch periodically, hoping he wasn't running late, as that was one of the first things that Michonne had warned him about, so he raced across town, making two brief stops along the way.

With the evening approaching, Rick arrived at the restaurant just on time, as Michonne was stood with her mother, holding Andre on her hip as they spoke to the host at the podium. They looked like a cute little family of three tight knit generations, and it was while Rick was admiring the trio that Michonne had turned to say something to her mother and he caught sight of what she was wearing, which led his steps to falter.

She looked phenomenal in the black dress she wore, which clung to her in his favourite places, exposing her lean shoulders and stopping a few inches above her knee. He hadn't seen her with her dreads out before and the image captivated him as he watched each one brush her lower back when she looked in his direction. She flashed him one of her contagious smiles, and he smiled back, though he questioning why she'd wear such an outfit when he desperately needed to focus that night.

"You made it", She beamed, shifting Andrea from one hip to the other, "Look who it is, peanut"

"Am Rocket", Andre corrected in a whiney tone, which told Rick that the boy had probably had to correct her more than once already.

"Well, _sorry_ ", She snickered, smoothing his hair away from his face, "Rocket"

"These are for you", Rick held out one of the bouquet of flowers held to Michonne, "You look beautiful"

Her eyes lit up, "You didn't have to do this"

"Trust me, I did"

She took the flowers as she giggled, "Thank you"

"And this is for you", He held out a chocolate bunny and a toy rocket for Andre, who almost leapt out of his mother's hands to retrieve them.

"What do you say Andre?"

"Than-koo!", Andre's eyes didn't leave his new treat while he tucked the rocket under his arm, "All mine?"

"They finally found our reservation", Marie huffed as she joined them, already taking a good look at Rick, "Well, it's nice to see you again"

"You, too ma'am", Rick held out the flowers to her.

"Oh, why thank you- and my favourites too! Did Michonne tell you I love roses?", The woman glowed as she looked to her daughter.

"Roses are your favourite? Since when?", Michonne cringed, "I thought you liked daffodils?"

Marie sighed as she looked back at him, "Thank you Rick, you've managed to highlight how much my daughter doesn't know about me"

He bit the inside of his cheek as he tried not to chuckle, "I'm glad you like them"

"Oh, is that chocolate?", Marie grinned at her grandson, who held his bunny up for her to see, "I hope it doesn't have-"

"No nuts of any kind", Rick quickly informed, "I checked. Twice"

Marie's eyebrows sprung up, while Michonne seemed even more pleased, "Thank you for remembering"

"His own father-"

"Mom", Michonne breathed, stopping her mother from saying anything further as she took Andre from her arms.

"Come this way, please", The host called, holding menus in one hand while waving in one direction with the other. Marie followed the woman with her grandson now on her hip, while Michonne walked in front of Rick, and it took maximum effort for him to keep his eyes above her shoulders.

"You're doing great so far-"

"Why would you wear that?", He ejected, leaning forward to whispered in her ear, "Do you know how much is riding on this?"

Her eyes widened as she began to giggle again, "Oh wow, I don't think I've ever heard anything so suggestive-"

"Stop that", He nearly hissed, fighting the urge to picture the inappropriate visuals that dared to cross his mind.

"I haven't dressed up in so long- I mean, I used to dress up but not like this", She sniggered.

He looked at her through narrowed eyes, "Are you doing all of this on purpose?"

"I get it, you're nervous, it's okay Rick, you're doing great. I know we practiced a lot… _a whole lot_ … but I still want my mom to see the funny and relaxed side of you"

They were placed in a booth, where Rick say on one end with Michonne beside him, and Andrea beside her, while her mother sat on the other end. They engaged in some small talk before placing their orders with the waitress, all while Rick kept in mind that Michonne's mother could start asking questions whenever she saw fit, so he couldn't relax just yet, as he was waiting to be thrown in the firing line.

"So Rick, I noticed that you renamed my grandson?"

His gaze met with Marie's from across the table, "I learnt the hard way that he likes to start running at full speed once he's on the ground, so I said I'd call him Rocket from now on"

"He loves that name now", Marie glanced at the toddler, who was pouting for his mother to give him his chocolate bunny, "And you have a son of your own, right? An older boy?"

"Yeah, he's eleven going on eighteen"

"I remember going through that with this one…", The woman smirked as she tipped her head in Michonne's direction, "God forbid if I wasn't 'acting cool' or if I was 'embarrassing' her-"

"That's all I ever here about", Rick scoffed, "But I used to be cool, until Michonne turned up, and now I'm just 'dad'"

"I told you I was cool", Michonne issued proudly, giving her mother a smug smile.

"What does that even mean?", Marie snorted, "Breaking a bone when you're on that darn skateboard of yours? I swear, one summer she broke something almost every other week, we were practically living in the emergency room!"

Michonne bit her lip as she looked in Rick's direction, leading him to huff, "She actually gave my son an impromptu lesson, since he's into all that as well, but he's only broken a wrist so far so he's got a lot of catching up to do"

"Oh boy, he does", Marie chuckled heartily as she reached for her glass of water, "So do you hope to continue to see my daughter while you're married, or is a divorce really on the horizon?"

Michonne's eyes widened dramatically, while Rick did his best not to choke on his tongue while he answered, "I can assure both you and Michonne that It's on the horizon ma'am"

"I'm pleased to hear that, because I was initially quite worried when I heard about your predicament"

"I can understand that, and it would have been ideal if I had waited until I was divorced to initiate something between the two of us but…", He fought the urge to look in Michonne's direction, "I honestly don't think I would have been able to stay away from her"

Marie raised a questioning brow at him, "Even if it would have been beneficial to your relationship in the long run?"

She squinted behind the woman as he thought about her question, "That could have been the case, but I wouldn't trade in anythan' that's happened between us so far. Not for anythan' at all"

Marie gave him a slow, understanding nod of her head, appearing to accept his answer, before firing another one, "And now she wants to become a bounty hunter?"

"Somethan' I am wholeheartedly against and she knows that, but…", He peaked in Michonne's direction, "She wants to do it, and I find myself unable to go against her, which is another thang I'm sure she knows"

"I'm aware that It can be a dangerous job?"

"It can, I won't deny that at all. I've told her about every bad encounter I've had, about everythan' that can go wrong even with the most simple case...and maybe I'm just a bad story teller but none of that seemed to deter her so my next step is to train her until she's better than me", Rick began to smile as Andrea took a seat beside him, having crawled over his mother's lap to get to him.

"I just want to know that she's in safe hands-"

"I can assure you that she is. I am more than willing to sacrifice my friends for-"

"Rick", Michonne warned, her glass hovering by her lips as she fought a smile.

Marie looked at her daughter with suspicious eyes, "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to sit back and see how things go then, won't I?"

Michonne nodded her head in agreement, "Yes-"

"Your meals", Two waiters approached the tables, carrying a plate in each hand. Rick found his appetite had vanished, waiting to return when he was sure Michonne's mother approved of him.

"So I can see my grandson has taken a liking to you", Marie gestured towards Andre, who was forcing Rick to take his rocket, "Michonne told me that you had spent some time together at the park?"

Rick gave Andre one last confused look before turning his attention back to his grandmother, "Yeah we did, and he's a great kid, and I'd like to think that we get along well. We both don't like heights, we both can only go down the slide a hundred times before getting sick and sometimes I fall asleep on my face too, so I feel he and I have a mutual understanding"

"I can see a few similarities between your sense of humour and my daughters", Marie chortled as she stepped out of the booth, "Excuse me for just a moment"

"Alright, mom", Michonne called as she fixed a napkin on the front of Andre's shirt, "Hurry before you food gets cold"

Her mother gave her a brief side eye before she walked away muttering, "Alright, _mom_ "

Rick snickered as he peered at Michonne, "How am I doing?"

"Perfect", She beamed, "I'd be pleased if I was her"

"Thank god", He exhaled heavily as he sat back against the booth, watching Andre trying to stab his grilled chicken pieces with an unnecessary amount of force, so he leaned forward again and held his hand as he helped him, "It's already dead, buddy, so you can take your time"

"I really liked some of the things you said"

"And I really like that dress"

"I'm being serious, Rick", She issued firmly, though she couldn't stop smiling.

"Yeah? I impressed you too, huh?", He joked, reaching over and tucking one of her locks behind her ear.

"I guess you did", She admitted bashfully.

"I'm on a roll to night, ain't I buddy?", Rick tilted his head to look at Andre, who held up a baby carrot on the end of his fork to him, "You wanna' feed me some?"

Andre nodded his head, his curls bouncing,

"Yummy"

"But you need to eat that to grow big and- oh-", The toddler still stuck the carrot in Rick's mouth, "Never mind"

Michonne appeared to find the display hilarious as she crumbled into a fit of giggles, "He did the same thing to…"

Rick was shocked to see her expression fiercely change; her smile replaced with the beginnings of a snarl while her brows furrowed, leading Rick to look for the source of her displeasure, and it soon became apparent.

Mike was stood at the next booth with an older couple, who were clearly his parents, as the bared a striking resemblance to both. The lady Rick assumed to be Mike's mother was small, amongst the two males, wearing a large fur coat on her shoulders, while the man beside wore a suit, fitting his larger frame well. The couple were shamelessly looking over at Michonne and Andre, wearing unfriendly expressions, while Mike's eyes darted all over the place, unable to focus on anything.

"Grandma!", Andre called, holding his fork up to Michonne's mother as she strutted towards the table slowly, having already spotted Mike and his parents. Rick had been in tense situations many times before, and for reasons unbeknownst to him, he felt as if he should be prepared to witness something ugly.

"Rick?", Marie began in an even tone as she popped her clip-on earrings off, "I'm going to need you to excuse my behaviour for the next three minutes".


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

"..I get it mom, you know I do, but you can't just go over there-"

"Oh yes I can, just watch me"

"No!", Michonne whispered firmly, refusing to let go of her mother's arm, "We were having such a good time before they walked in and I don't want you to let them ruin that! Just ignore them and come and sit down please-"

"Did you see how they were looking over here at my babies? My baby and my grandbaby?", Her mother peered down at her with furrowed brows, "Oh no, not _my_ babies-"

"I saw and I don't care because Andre is too busy having fun! Just look at him!"

The older woman peeked over her shoulder, and instinctively smiled when she saw Andre holding up another baby carrot for Rick, who sighed, "I thought the first one was a lovely gesture, but now I'm starting to think that you just don't like vegetables"

"Yummy!", Andre swayed from side to side, doing a little dance that Michonne often enjoyed seeing.

Her mother smiled at the toddler, "Oh just look at him"

"So can you sit down please? You know that if they say or do anything then I will be right behind you", Michonne insisted, tugging her mother to sit down as she pleaded.

"I would hope not", He mother issued sternly, "If I have to go other there then I want you to take my grandson out of here, I don't want him to see me acting all undignified"

Michonne's brow fell to a straight line as she slid back into the booth, " _Seriously_?"

"That's right", Her mother finally sat down, whilst popping her earrings back on, "I apologise Rick-"

"Don't worry about it", He waved his hand dismissively, "I don't think I'd behave any different if I were you"

"I just can't stand them", Her mother began to vent, "How they think they can just look down on my daughter and my grandbaby like they've done something wrong, when really it's that good for nothing-"

"Mom", Michonne called gently, "Please?"

The woman huffed, placing her napkin back on her lap, "I just need one of them to say one thing-"

"Your foods going to get cold, so eat please"

Her mother shot her a brief side eye as she picked up her knife and fork, while Andre began stealing food from his mother's plate, which Rick clearly found amusing, "You are like a little food bandit. Carl used to do the exact same thang, he ever touched his own plate"

"I bet he was adorable when he was small", Michonne smiled, putting some of Andre's food on her plate to fool him into eating his own dinner.

"He was, but time just flew right by and the next thang I know-"

"There having their own kids", Her mother finished, tilting her head towards Michonne.

"I hope I have another decade or two to go before he makes me grandparent", Rick responded dryly, "I had him when I was even younger than Michonne and it wasn't easy at all"

"How did your parents take that?"

Rick's eyes darted elsewhere for a second, "Well, they still haven't accepted it. Even If I were to bump into them today, that's the first thang they'd bring up"

Her mother sat back with a huff, "Now that is just terrible. If I ever come across them then I will-"

"Please don't give her more things to get angry about", Michonne requested flatly to Rick, "You've seen what it takes for me to get her to calm down"

A chuckle burst from his lips, while her mother shot her another side eye, "You know I'm right though"

"I know you are", Michonne smiled innocently at her, "You always are"

"Mommy, eat", Andre urged, sounding like a miniature version of herself.

"I am", She replied while taking her fork in her hand, ignoring the sniggered that came from Rick and her mother.

The evening was going perfectly, and Michonne was genuinely glad that her mother suggested they got together, as she and Rick were getting along swimmingly. Despite the unfriendly looks that she received from Mike's parents, she wasn't going to allow them to dampen her mood, and she wasn't expecting Mike to do anything other than hide behind his parents, which was why she was even more shocked when her son's father approached the table cautiously.

"Uh, good evening", Mike greeted, wearing a stoic expression as he stood up straighter.

Michonne's mother slapped her knife and fork down on the table and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked up at him with a glare, while Rick sat back with a small groan, his lip curling in annoyance. Michonne truly felt as though she had two guard dogs sat either side of her.

"...Can I have a moment to say hello to my son, please?", Mike only looked at Michonne and nowhere else, which was a wise decision on his part.

She glanced down at Andre, who didn't seem to notice that there was someone nearby as he was too busy trying to put a pea on the end of his fork, so gently rubbed his back to get his attention, "Look who it is Andre?"

The boy looked up at his father, and chimed, "Hello…"

"Hey son", Mike smiled, his hands at his sides.

"How about you go over and say hi…", Michonne looked to Rick, hoping he would take the hint to pass the toddler over, but he was still too busy glaring at Mike to notice, so she hissed, "Rick!"

He whipped his head around to look at her, and quickly caught up with the situation, picking up Andre from his seat, "Sorry to bother you, buddy"

Andre giggled as he was passed to his father, who grinned at him, soon placed him on his hip, "You alright? You having fun?"

Michonne's eyes crept over to the other booth, where Mike's parents were looking over with a combination of astonishment and disbelief. She couldn't help but feel a little proud of Mike for not completely ignoring his son because of his parent's presence, but the moment would be short lived.

"Do you mind if I take him over to…", Mike tipped his head in his parent's direction, and the request earned him a snappy response from her mother.

"Over my dead body", She issued coldly, "I'm not having my grandson pick up on their horrible attitudes"

Mike's eyes darted down to the woman, his expression changing, "They're his grandparents, too. They deserve a chance-"

"Over _my_ dead body", Her mother repeated, narrowing her eyes at him.

"...Well, it's not up to you, Michonne and I are Andre's parents and I'm asking her", Mike responded in 'matter-of-fact' tone, which made him sound more like a stroppy teenager than anything else, "So maybe you should stay out of it"

Michonne frowned at Mike, "Don't talk to her like that-"

"Who the hell do you think you are talking to?!", Her mother was out the booth again, her earrings right back where she left them previously, "Michonne, take Andre out of here"

"You always get involved in things that don't concern you", Mike continued, "I should be able to talk to Michonne without you butting in-"

"That little boy is my concern! Who do you think helps his mother raise him?! Because it certainly isn't you! I'm the one that's helping to support him, I'm the one the helps look after him! Hell, I'm playing grandmother and daddy to him, you no good, waste of-"

"Get away from my son, Marie!", Mike's mother hopped up out the neighbouring booth, "Mike, give her back her child, now! I told you not to go over to these… these…"

"Go on, finish that sentence", Michonne's mother urged, kicking off her heels, "I dare you-"

"Rick!", Michonne hissed once again as she scooted around the booth, "My mom!"

"I'm on it", He rose to his feet and stepped past Mike, attempting to make a barrier between the two mother's.

"You are classless", Mike's mother scowled, "You and that daughter of yours-"

"Hey, cut that out", Rick rose a hand to stop the woman from speaking further.

"Don't talk to my mother like that!", Mike growled, handing Andre over to Michonne.

"Who the hell are you?", Mike's father boomed, stepping around his wife so he was almost chest to chest with Rick.

"How about you just calm down?", Rick cocked his head to the side as he squinted at the man, "Maybe lower your voice since there are little children nearby-"

"One of them being your son!", Michonne's mother popped up from behind Rick, "Congratulations, you've raised the world's oldest toddler!"

"At least our daughter isn't some little no-good, hussy!", Mike's mother countered, causing Michonne's mouth to fall open in shock, genuinely offended.

"Hey!", Rick barked while he was meant to be blocking Michonne's mother, but the woman slipped past both him and Mike's father, making a lunge for the woman for her offensive remark.

Michonne grabbed Andre's toy Rocket and his chocolate, and began to bounce her son as she walked away, trying to distract him from the utter mayhem that had ensued, "Here you go, peanut!"

"Am rocket!", Her son corrected firmly, taking the chocolate from her.

"Sorry, you are rocket, aren't you?", She glanced back over her shoulder when she noticed waiters running past her, and other dinners looking in shock and horror towards the area where they were sat. She wasn't able to see much, besides Mike and Rick wrestling, Mike's father trying to separate the two mother's. She turned back to her son, "I think mommy saw an ice cream store across the street! Should we get some ice cream?"

"Yeah!", Andre cheered, "Where grandma? Rick?"

"We'll wait for them, okay?"

"Okay"

Michonne and Andre were sat in the ice cream parlour for quite some time, sharing a chocolate cone as they looked out the window at the restaurant across the street. A police car showed up, and two officers disappeared inside shortly after they took their seats, and finally reappeared a while late, followed by Mike and his parents, then her mother and Rick. It seemed as though they were all escorted out, no longer welcome at the establishment, much to Michonne's dismay, as she did enjoy the food.

Andre carried the remains of their cone as the crossed the street, clearly content with their evening, and too young to know any better. It was only when Michonne was close enough that she could see the damaged they all sustained in their mass brawl; Mike's mother's wig was lopsided, as if it had just been plopped back on her head after coming off, and her pant suit was dishevelled with one shoulder ripped, while Mike was sporting a swollen cheek and a torn shirt, most buttons missing.

Michonne's mother had wine on her dress, her makeup smudged, while Rick had a little cut on his lip and his shirt no longer tucked in, but they didn't look as bad as the other two, which left Michonne feeling oddly relieved. She waited until the officers stopped speaking to them to wander over, wearing a tired expression, "Well?"

Her mother smoothed her dress down with one hand, while holding the flowers and her purse in the other, "We got a warning. And we'll be getting bill from the restaurant for damages"

"Grandma messy!", Andre giggled, pointing at the woman.

"Grandma is _very_ messy, isn't she? I need a bath!", Her mother gave him an exaggerated smile as she picked him up off the ground, "No one messes with my babies, grandma's always going to be there to get all messy for you"

"Messy, messy grandma", Andre sang.

Her mother sighed as she looked at Rick, "Well, I'm sorry we had to go through all that Rick-"

He shook his head, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, "Believe it or not, this is actually one of the nicer ways that my nights have ended"

"There you go with that humour again", She smirked at him, "We should do this again, we make a good team"

" _Mom_ ", Michonne huffed, taking the bouquet of flowers that Rick had bought her from her mother so she could hold Andre properly.

"I agree", Rick whispered behind his hand to his new sparring partner.

"Oh boy, it was lovely evening", Her mother chuckled as she began to step away, "I need to get this stain out my dress, but feel free to come by the house anytime Rick, you are more than welcome"

Rick's eyes brows sprung up, "Thank you, and I had fun too"

"Bye Rick!", Andre waved his new toy at him.

"Bye rocket!"

"I'll be there in second, mom", Michonne called, watching them make their way to her car.

"Alright!", Her mother called back, spinning a giggling Andre in her arms.

She looked back at Rick with a sigh, holding her flowers close to her, "Well, this was… standard procedure"

"Standard procedure, huh?", Rick chortled as he stepped closer to her, "I'd like to think that your mom likes me even more after fighting beside her in your honour"

She grinned at him, "You were meant to stop her!"

"Did you see how fast she was? All I did was blink and she was on that woman", Rick scoffed, shaking his head with disbelief, "Now I see where Andre gets it from, everyone in your family is part cheetah"

Michonne dropped her head on his chest as she laughed, leading him to wrap his arms around her, "You just fit right in, don't you?"

"I guess I do", He lowered his voice as he looked around, "And I can tell you another place that I think I fit right in-"

"Mr Grimes!", She gasped.

"Shhh!", He sniggered, "I'm scared that your mother is just gonna' jump out from behind one of these cars…"

Michonne found herself laughing once again, feeling giddy with delight, "I think you deserve a little present too…"

He dipped his head, peering down as he raised an eyebrow at her, "Yeah?"

"Yep… and we have a small window of opportunity tomorrow after I finish class and before you pick up Carl-"

"I like how you think"

They shared a short, sweet kiss before Michonne had to break away from him to re-join her mother and son, though she didn't want to. The fact that he didn't run for the hills after being kicked out of the restaurant only amplified her feelings for him, and she didn't think it was possible for her to care for him anymore than she already did.

Needless to say, she was more than excited to see him the next day, as well as inform Maggie on everything that had happened between them the following night. The brunette's mouth hung open throughout the majority of the tale as they strolled to the campus parking lot, "Did I ever tell you how much I love your mom? Because I love your mom"

"She's a handful", Michonne chuckled, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, "But you can't help but love her"

"I wish I was there to jump in, but it sounds like Rick did a good job…", Maggie nudged her suggestively.

"He did…", Michonne began to cringe, "I should probably tell you that he renamed Andre… he prefers to go by 'Rocket' now"

Maggie's smile instantly disappeared, "What? No more peanut?"

"No more peanut… he also pointed out that it's ironic since he's allergic to them"

"Oh! Well I'm _sorry_ that 'Peanut' wasn't good enough for good ol' Rick", Maggie scoffed, throwing her hands up in annoyance, "You just wait until I see him-"

Michonne threw her head back as she laughed, "I think he's still healing from last night so go easy on him"

"You can bet that I won't"

They arrived at the parking lot, where to Michonne's surprise, Rick was already waiting with Glenn, leaning against his truck as his friend spoke on the phone.

"I have a bone to pick with you, Mister", Maggie began firmly, placing one hand on her hip as she narrowed her eyes at Rick.

His eyes widened as he perked up, "...I'm doing well Maggie, how are you?"

"You renamed my peanut?"

Rick couldn't stop the sky grin that spread across his face in time, "I'm sorry but it doesn't make any sense! He's allergic to them and it's and an inanimate object-"

"He looked like a little peanut when he was born! That's why!"

"And now he can run at forty miles per hour without breaking a sweat, so I thought rocket was more fitting"

"What's going on?", Glenn quizzed as he shoved his phone in his back pocket.

"Glenn, this is my friend Maggie, Maggie, this is Glenn", Michonne introduced them to each other with an amused expression, "Rick and Maggie are just arguing about what to call my son, other than his name"

"I'm still calling him peanut", Maggie insisted, crossing her arms over her chest, "And hi, Glenn"

Glenn appeared frozen, looking at the girl with adoring eyes, "Hi…"

"So… what's going on?", Michonne asked Rick, tilting her head towards Glenn discreetly.

"I just need to drop Glenn off at the Mechanic, he got a new car but it broke down already", Rick informed, lifting his cap so she could see his face more clearly.

"Oh okay", Michonne chirped, secretly happy that their plans weren't going to be interrupted, "Well I'll call you Maggie-"

"I'll call you instead, I might be home a little late", Maggie announced, giving her arm a little squeeze as she began to back away, "Kiss _peanut_ for me. Bye Rick, nice meeting you Glenn"

"Bye!", Glenn waved, with a little too much enthusiasm.

Rick shot his friend a strange look as he called, "Bye"

It was obvious that the self-proclaimed 'wise-guy' had found himself blown away by Maggie, and Michonne wiggled her brows suggestively at Rick when they piled into his vehicle, though her boyfriend just rolled his eyes in return, not taking as much interest in his friends romantic lives as they did his.

"I have an assignment due next week that I haven't even started", Michonne groaned as she rummaged through her backpack in the front seat, "So I won't be getting any sleep tonight"

"You have the weekend to do it?", Rick pointed out as he drove out onto the main street.

"I like to get everything done in one night, it's easier for me"

"That's what I used to do", Glenn piped up from the backseat, "Then you have less work to worry about"

Rick snorted, "Wow, you both would have hated working with me then"

Michonne smirked at him, "Very reassuring"

"Hey, hey! Pull over! Look who it is!", Glenn demanded, leaning through the front seats to point at the windshield, "It's Martinez! He's the one we we've been looking for, for weeks!"

Rick swiftly pulled into the nearest space available, "You sure?"

"It's him! He just has longer hair!", Glenn stressed, "If we get him now then that's twelve grand a piece!"

Michonne's eyebrows shot up into her hairline, "Twelv- _just_ for catching him?"

Rick peaked at her from the corner of his eye, "Because Shane and Daryl aren't here, we wouldn't have to split four ways"

"Common, he's only has two other guys with him", Glenn's hand reached for the door handle.

"You wait here", Rick instructed to Michonne as he removed his seatbelt, "I'll lock the door-"

Michonne swiftly unfastened her seatbelt too, "I'm coming with you"

Rick turned his head to look at her, "You're not"

"I am"

"No, you're-", He froze when she opened the door slightly, and his usual steely gaze vanished, replaced with a thunderous look, "Michonne-"

"Don't look at me like that!", She scolded, "I don't like that look, Rick-"

"Oh my god", Glenn groaned, dropping his head forward, "You guys can't be serious right now"

"You are not coming with us", Rick repeated firmly, "I haven't even gone over anything remotely close to this yet-"

"I just want to see how you do things! I'm not going to be running alongside you or anything, I just want to hang back and watch from afar, you said that's what you did when you first started! How am I going to learn anything from just word of mouth? You didn't learn anything that way so let me watch!"

Rick clenched his jaw as he shook his head, "No, another time, when we're more prepared"

Michonne opened the door wider, "Let me watch, Rick. You said you'd help me and you'd train me and you told my mom that I wouldn't be safer with anyone else, so who did you lie to, me or my mom?"

Rick frowned at her, giving her an incredulous look, "Did you really just-"

Glenn opened his door, "He's gone in the department store, it's big, she can hang behind, there's plenty of room, so common, we can't lose him"

It seemed that Rick went through a range of emotions in a very short moment, before finally growling, "Fine, but you listen to me alright? I mean it Michonne, everythan' I say-"

She had already jumped out the car, "Got it!".


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

"Here? Why here? I can barely see anything, I'll go up there instead"

Rick breathed in slowly, trying to remain calm as he adjusted his gun in his waistband, "You said you would listen to everythan' I said-"

"Okay, okay", Michonne held her hands up in surrender as she took a tiny step back, "But I'm just saying that I can't see anything from here, the rails are blocking the walkway so I'd see better from up there... and I'd probably be safer, too"

Rick looked up to the second floor of the department store, quickly taking what she said into consideration, "...Alright then go-"

Michonne hurried away, taking larger steps than usual to get to the escalator. Rick pinched his nose bridge with his thumb and index finger as he sighed, questioning why he didn't lock her in his car like he had done previously, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by his vibrating cell phone.

"He's paying for some stuff at the counter, but I can't see where one of the other guys went…", Glenn explained from somewhere in the store, "I already briefed the security guard, he… I don't think he'll be any help but the police should be on their way… what's the plan here?"

"Let him head out of here, I'll get him near the doors", Rick hung around the entrance of the store, "I don't care if the other one runs, it's him we want…"

"Alright… He's hitting on the cashier"

"Great", Rick quipped sarcastically, peering up at the second floor again as he looked for Michonne, "Let me know when he's on the move again- what the hell?"

Rick had to squint when he finally did spot Michonne near the metal rail, appearing on to speak to a tall bald headed man, that looked familiar.

"Hey, what did the other guy look like?"

"Uh…", Glenn breathed, "Bald? Black t-shirt? Little goatee? Why? You found him?"

"Looks like Michonne has", The words left Rick's mouth in a deeper tone than usual, "I'm here, let me call her"

"Got it-"

Rick ended his call with Glenn and swiftly began with Michonne as his attention bounced between the aisle where Martinez would appear and the second floor. He saw her retrieve her phone, her eyes widening as she answered, "Hey?"

Rick took in another long, calming breath before growling, "That's one of the guys"

"I know", She chirped, wearing a strained smile as she turned away from the man slightly.

"Then what are you doing?"

"Well this blouse just spoke to me and I thought I would keep it with me until you finished doing what you were doing… and then you could pay for it"

He frowned as he tried to decipher what she meant, but soon began squinting in her direction again, "Is he hitting on you?"

"You could say that", She chuckled, tucking on of her dreads behind her ear.

"Stop doing all of that", Rick issued dryly, "Just tell him you're not interested and walk away-"

"How about you hurry up and finish what you're doing?"

"You said you'd listen-"

"Ha ha, you're so funny! Okay well I will call you later-"

"Michonne-"

"Bye!"

Rick was tempted to bite his phone in frustration, but he didn't have time to react to his conversation with her, as he saw Martinez rounding the corner with another male beside him, and Glenn not far behind. Pushing the situation with Michonne aside for the moment and marched towards the wanted man.

"Cesar Martinez?"

Martinez slowed, eyeing Rick suspiciously, "Who the hell are you?"

"Rick Grimes, I'm the one that picked up your boss Simon the other day", Rick explained in a monotone, "And I'm sure you heard all about that?"

Martinez looked Rick from head to toe, "I don't have a boss. I'm my own boss"

Rick cringed, narrowing his eyes at the man, "That probably wasn't something you should've admitted to me"

"Well I guess that you think-", Martinez cut his sentence short, throwing his bags at Rick before starting for one of the aisles, while his accomplice ran in the other direction.

"Get him!", Rick yelled to Glenn while following Martinez, removing his gun from his waistband.

His eyes didn't leave the wanted man as he ducked and dived between the rails, knocking shoppers out the way as he tried to get away. Rick was hot on his tail until he realised that he was heading towards the emergency exit, so he broke away from him, getting away from the racks of clothes that only slowed them down.

Martinez had managed to make it out of the maze, and his hand had only just slapped down on the door handle when Rick tackled him, knocking him off his feet and against the wall.

Martinez held his shoulder as he crumbled to the floor, "What the fuck is wrong with you man?!"

"You shouldn't have ran", Rick huffed, pointing his weapon at him as he rolled his shoulders back, "Come on, up you get"

"I can sue you for this-"

"Yeah, tell your attorney about it. Now get up!"

After helping the man to his feet, Rick frog marched Martinez through the store with a crowd of onlookers. He couldn't initially see Glenn or Michonne when he reached for the front entrance, and naturally he began to worry, until his friend stepped into view at the top floor.

It wasn't until the police arrived and Rick was able to hand over Martinez, that he was able to go and see if Glenn had managed to stop the man he chased, and the check if Michonne was unharmed.

"What on earth…", Was all he could mutter in a breathy tone when he saw Martinez men laying on their stomach, hands tied behind their backs with glittery pink scarves.

"That was my idea", Michonne pointed at the makeshift restraints proudly.

Glenn nodded his head, "It was. This idiot tripped when he got up here so I just jumped on him, but Michonne here went full on Tyson"

Rick began to frown, his mouth agape as he prepared to question what had happened, but Michonne spoke, "I thought he was going to run when he saw you guys, so I punched him"

His eyebrows sprung up, "You punched him?"

"Yeah", She nodded excitedly, "I knocked him out"

His eyes fell to the hand that she cradled with the other, "...It's that why-"

"Yeah…", She huffed, peering down at herself for a brief moment, "No big deal or anything, but can we stop by the hospital?"

Rick's face fell, and he instinctively reached out for her, "What?"

"I said it's not a big deal! I just think it's a fracture or something…", She insisted with a small smile that turned into a wince of agony.

Rick could have done the loudest, most dramatic groan possible, but instead he just replied quietly, "Alright"

To say that he was annoyed with his girlfriend was an understatement, which was why he didn't say anything while leading the men to the police, or when they all piled back in his car. He barely even said goodbye to Glenn when he dropped him off at the Mechanic. Michonne was almost silent too, though he knew when she would steal little glances at him while on their way to the hospital, and when she returned to the cubical after having an x-ray done.

"...I was going to make a joke about Carl and I having matching casts…", She announced, giving him an apologetic look as she held her arm. Rick rolled his eyes over to her with a questioning expression, leading her to huff, "It's really not that bad? It didn't even hurt as much as the time I fell down the-"

"It's not that", He sighed, sitting back in his chair, "And I don't doubt that you've suffered worse, I'm just wondering if this is somethan' we should continue"

Her eyes grew wide with alert, "What?"

"You said you'd listen to everythan' I said but instead you did the opposite and I can't teach you anythan' if you're not willing to-"

"I am willing to listen", She protested, "But if I see an opportunity to do things a little differently then-"

"You talk to me about it", He breathed, "Preferably not when I'm on a job?"

Her shoulders fell and her head titled, "...Okay, I'm sorry, I should have listened to you and followed your lead but it was… really exciting- I got really excited and I guess the possibility of working with you just became all too real and I a little got carried away"

"A little? You fractured-"

"I know, Rick", She replied dryly, before softening her tone again, "I should have left it up to you because you've been doing this since the beginning of time and-"

"I'm not laughing, Michonne", He argued, fighting the urge to smile at her joke, "I have been doing this for a while and-"

"And that's why I should listen to you and I'm sorry that I didn't"

Rick narrowed his eyes at her after a moment of silence, "You're doing what I do? Telling me eveythan' I wanna' hear?"

She bit her lip, giving him a little preview of her contagious smile, "...Maybe?"

"Not ' _Maybe_ ', you are"

"I don't want you to give up on teaching me just because I'm a little too enthusiastic", She pleaded, "I really want to do this and I really want to work beside you"

Rick found it impossible to not feel a warmth from her words, and coupled with the fact that he found it impossible to turn her away entirely, it came as no surprise that he caved almost instantly, "You have to listen then-"

"I will", Her contagious smile made an appearance, "I promise"

He started to smile back, his eyes were drawn to clock on the wall behind her, "I think our times running out?"

Her head spun around, allowing her to see the time herself as she gasped, "I have to pick up Andre"

"The nurse isn't back yet, you need the cast on"

"I can come back tomorrow or something", Michonne hopped off the bed, holding her broken hand against her chest.

"You can't look after him like that, I don't even think you'll be able to carry him like that", Rick pointed out as he stood up from his seat, "I'll get him"

She shook his head at his idea, "You have to get Carl"

"I have time, I can pick up Andre before"

She shook her head again as she reached for her back pack, "You don't have a seat for him, my mom does and she's at work"

"I can get one", He shrugged, retrieving his car keys from his jean pocket, "I'll grab it at the store and go get him, then pick up Carl"

Michonne seemed to hesitate, "Rick, seriously its-"

He strolled around her, "Send me a message with the address, I know what store I'm going to so I'll give them a heads up to have it ready-"

"I can just come back tomorrow!", She called, watching him walk away from her.

"No need!"

"Okay! Wait, wait! I have to call his day-care and tell them that you're picking him up-"

"Alright, do it!"

Rick had naively thought his afternoon would be a peaceful one; stealing some time away with Michonne before he had to resume his fatherly duties to Carl, but from the moment he first received a phone call from Glenn, everything seemed to go in a completely different direction, and he didn't even have time to question it as he drove like maniac to buy Andre a car seat, then to pick up the toddler before collecting his own child.

"Glenn told me you had Michonne out on the field with you two? Can I ask why?", Shane quizzed, having called Rick while he was in the midst of a difficult task.

"Because she wants to join us", Rick replied bluntly, his cell phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder as he thought to strap the car seat down in his truck.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?!"

"You would have found out eventually, Shane"

"So we're just gonna' start letting our girlfriends join? Is that what we're doing?"

"It's partly _your_ fault that she wanted to join in the first place! You were telling her all these stories, making it sound like we were having the time of our lives-"

"It's not my fault I'm entertaining, Rick! It's one of my many desirable qualities-"

"Yeah, well thanks", Rick sighed happily when he managed to secure the seat, "Listen, I have to go"

"So she's gonna' be joining us from now on?"

"It's a possibility, Shane", He rolled his eyes as he climbed over to the driver's seat, "How about we talk about this when I'm not busy?"

"Fine, but this ain't over"

Rick didn't have any problems believing that Shane would bring up the topic again, and he could easily guess what his friend's reservations would be, but for the moment he didn't care, as he had to continue driving like a maniac in his quest to collect both boys.

Andre's day-care easy enough to find, much to Rick's relief, and with only a short time to spare before he had to make his way to Carl's school, he all but sprinted to the building.

"Hey, I'm here to get Andre?", He informed the older dark skinned woman sat at the desk, "His mother's Michonne?"

She looked at him curiously, "Oh yes, she called, can I get your name please?"

"Rick Grimes"

"And for security purposes, I have to ask the name of your son?"

Rick narrowed his eyes at the woman, "Carl?"

"That's right!", She cheered, rising from her seat, "We ask parents to give us a question to ask, just so we know it's the right person that's come to collect a child"

"Oh… got it", He slowly nodded, watching her lean over to press a button on the wall.

"Now just straight through, and it's the third door on the left, with the moon and stars cut outs on it"

"Alright", Rick pushed open the doors and into the small hallway, where there were plenty of doors, all covered with some kind of childlike drawings. It was then that he found himself feeling eager to see the toddler, wondering if he would recognise him and if he would be happy to see him, and if he could get the chance to see him play amongst his little peers. He smoothed back his hair, before knocking on the door and taking a small step back.

"Hello?", A young woman opened the door, looking at him the same way the receptionist had.

"Hey, I'm here to collect Andre? His mom already called…", Rick quickly explained, "I'm Rick"

"Oh okay, well nice to meet you Rick, I'm Tara", She backed up, allowing him to enter the bright room, "They're all just running around right now-"

"Can I get him? Is that alright? I just wanna' see how he is… playing and stuff"

"Sure, he is… right there by the blocks", She pointed at Andre, who wore a serious expression as he placed one block on top of the other, "I'll go get his things"

"Thanks", Rick had to watch where he stepped, as there were toys everywhere, but he made his way over to the toddler in one piece, and Andre didn't even notice him until he crouched down beside him, "Hey buddy"

Andre looked at Rick strangely, then towards the door, "My mommy?"

"I'm gonna' take you to her. She hurt her hand so she had to go the doctor"

"Oh no!", Andre slapped his hands to his cheeks as he gasped.

Laughter erupted from Rick, "She's okay! I promise! She just needs a really big band aid…"

"My grandma?"

"Your grandma…", Rick's eyes widened when he realised that he may face the older woman's wrath when she found out about her daughter's incident, "She's at work but she'll help look after mommy when she gets home… and she might kick my-"

"Take this", The toddler held out the block to him, You play"

"I wish we could play but my mission isn't complete, so how about we get out of here? You ready to go?"

Andre nodded his head, raising both hands in the air for Rick to pick him up, and so he did, scooping him up with a large grin on his face.

With one child in his possession, Rick had to continue his mad dash across town a little more carefully, all while trying to make Andre feel at ease, as the little boy wore a concerned look as he peered out the windshield.

"We just have to get Carl, then we're gonna' get mommy… and then we can go for ice cream? How's that sound?"

Andre's big brown eyes darted over to him, "Yeah"

"Alright then, that's the plan", Rick pulled up outside the school, where a steady stream of kids left the building. Carl always waited in the same spot with his friends, and so when Rick saw him he beeped his horn, much to Andre's amusement, "So you like loud noises too, huh?"

Andre pointed at the steering wheel, "My turn?"

"You wanna' try? Alright, come on", He released Andre from his seat and placed him on his lap, "So you just have to press here…"

Andre jumped when he the horn beeped a second time, but his fear was quickly replaced by giggles, "Again!"

The passenger door swung open, and Carl appeared with a confused expression, "...Hey, dad? And… Andre?"

"How you doing son?", Rick grinned at him.

"Fine? What's going on?", Carl dropped his backpack and skateboard in front of the seat.

"Michonne had a little accident so she's at the hospital", He summarised, putting Andre back in his seat before he could honk the horn a third time, "So I need to reunite him with his mother, but how about we go out to get somethan' to eat after? The four of us?"

Carl's eyes darted to the toddler, who was already staring at him, "Yeah sure, he's cool"

"You hear that, buddy? You passed Carl's cool test", Rick chuckled, "Only _so few_ people have"

"Hey mom! Dad said we're going to get something to eat, are you coming?"

His brows furrowed as he looked up to his son with a confused expression, "Uh- wait, what?"

"Mom was talking with one of my teachers", Carl explained, finally hoping in the passenger seat, "I'm not in trouble though"

Rick was trying his best to register everything that was leaving his son's mouth, but it was as if he was speaking another language. He barely even got a chance to ask any more questions, as Lori appeared beside his truck, "Hey! Sure, I'd love to come…Oh, who's _this_ little guy?".


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

"...I didn't even know she was there, she didn't tell me anythan' about a meeting with Carl's teacher"

Michonne watched Rick through narrowed eyes, "So you want us to go out to eat with your wife?"

"Soon to be ex-wife", He corrected, "And no, I don't want us to go out with her. My plan was that the four of us go out to eat and then we could all head back to my place and watch a movie or somethan', but I'm starting learn that what I hope happens, and what actually happens are two very different thangs"

Michonne's eyes darted behind him, where his truck was sat with both boys inside, "...Don't you think it will be a little weird? She and I haven't even formally met yet"

"I think it will be the weirdest thang we've ever done"

Her eyes were still narrowed, "I don't think I want to do this-"

"Neither do I-"

"But-"

"No, no 'but's please?", Rick began to argue, "How about you just punch me with your good hand? Hard enough to knock me out but not so that you break that one, too"

She shook her head as a chuckle escaped, "Stop... I think we have to get this over with. She's Carl's mother and Carl's your son and… you've endured an evening with my mother-"

"I would rather fight alongside your mother"

"So I can endure an hour or two with your soon to be ex-wife…", She insisted with a huff, "Let's just tackle it head on"

Rick looked even more reluctant than she felt, and she was expecting him to put up more of a fight, but he seemed too deflated from a tiring day, "Alright, fine… just… try not to pay too much attention to some of the thangs she says, please? In fact, just ignore her-"

"Come on", She groaned, taking his hold of his arm as she began to walk, forcing him to spin around, "You've put up with my stuff, so I'll put up with yours"

Michonne thought the only hurdle she would have to face for the remainder of the day was telling her mother about the new bright pink cast she was sporting, but evidently she was wrong.

Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about seeing Lori. With all the mayhem that had happened when she first started seeing Rick, it was hard for her to want to become acquainted with his soon to be ex-wife, but with him insisting that they spent more time together with their sons, it seemed like it would be better for all involved if they could be friendly towards each other.

That was what she kept reminding herself, until she came face to face with face with the slender, dark haired woman, who immediately stuck her hand out for Michonne to shake, "Lori, Carl's mother, nice to meet you"

Michonne had to use her good hand to shake it, "Michonne, nice to meet you too"

Rick cleared his throat as he adjusted Andre on his hip, muttering, "We should just sit here…"

"Yeah. Here", Michonne nodded in agreement, looking towards the nearest booth.

"How'd you break your hand?", Carl quizzed, pointing at her cast with his own wrapped up limb, "I'm getting mine off soon"

"Oh, I… was trying a new trick, didn't work that well"

"That sucks", Carl smirked, sliding in his seat before his mother, "I bet you're used to it?"

"I am, I don't think I have anything else left to break"

Carl's eyes lit up excitedly, "How many bones have you broken?"

"Oh uh, maybe…", Michonne frowned as she thought, taking a seat at one end of the booth while Lori was on the other. She was about to quote a number when she noticed Rick shaking his head at her, obviously not wanting his son to get any more ideas, "A lot. I broke a lot and they all hurt so bad and… I died"

A hearty chuckle burst from Carl's lips, "No fucking way"

"Hey, watch your mouth", Rick snapped, tipping his head towards Andre, who was sat between he and Michonne, "You don't want him to pick that up"

Carl cringed as he peered down at the toddler, "Oh yeah, sorry"

"So…", Lori turned her stern gaze away from Carl, softening her face as she looked at Michonne, "You work with, Rick?"

She hesitated, "I guess you can say I'm working on that. He's training me"

"Oh? That's… great. It's not easy though, especially with kids"

"Yeah, he's made that very clear but I'm hoping to make that work around it. Doing when I can when I'm not in class or when he's in day-care-"

"Class? You're in…"

"College"

Lori's eyes widened, "Oh, that's… that's _great_... Well I was a young mother too. Barely seventeen when I had Carl"

"Yeah it's not easy but you have to make it work", Michonne nodded, sitting Andre back in his seat before he could slide under the table, "So… what do you do?"

"Well I actually just got a job at the preschool as a teacher's assistant", The woman answered lightly, resting her forearms on the table as she stole a peek at Rick.

Michonne made a mental note to question him about that later, "Oh really? That's great"

"Sit there?", Andre pleaded to Rick, pointing at the small space between he and Carl.

"You wanna' sit here? Next Carl?", Rick clarified, already taking hold of his little torso. Andre nodded his head eagerly, so Rick lifted him up and scooted closer to Michonne for allow the boy to have his seat, whilst giving Carl a quick look of warning, "Language"

"Got it", Carl huffed, peering down at Andre when he was seated, "Hey buddy"

"Am rocket", Andre informed, his dark brows knitting together as he corrected him.

"Oh yeah", Carl chortled, "Sorry, Rocket"

" _Rocket_?", Lori repeated, beginning to frown, "How'd he get a name like that?"

"He can run really fast. Dad had to chase him when we were at the park", Carl explained, looking around the adults at the table with a wide smile.

Michonne noticed the way Rick stiffened, while Lori's gave a slow nod of her head as she breathed, "Oh… I see"

Michonne wasn't sure what she missed between Carl's parents, but she didn't get a chance to examine them both further, as the waitress appeared at the table to take the orders, distracting everyone from the uncomfortable setting for a short while.

"So…", Lori began after a brief period of silence once the waitress disappeared, "Do you both live nearby?"

"Um, not far? Maybe twenty minutes away", Michonne replied, tearing her gaze away from Andre and Carl, who were inspecting the colouring sheets the toddler received, "What about you?"

"Just about the same…", Lori huffed, drawing little circles with her finger on the table.

"Ah…", Michonne nodded, giving Rick a tiny shove with her foot, hoping to encourage him to speak, but her boyfriend appeared to be immersed with helping Andre choose a crayon to use. She inwardly groaned, "...I should probably apologise for… your water?"

It turned out that Rick hadn't been completely disconnected from the conversation, as his head whipped around to look at her, then Lori, who cleared her throat, "Oh, don't worry about it. I- I get that it- that was probably a misunderstanding. It would have been nice if Rick had introduced us properly but… here we are"

Rick slowly inhaled, his chest growing beneath his shirt, "Yeah. Here we are"

It was Michonne's turn to clear her throat, "Yeah, it was a misunderstanding, but Um, I guess this is a chance for us to get properly acquainted...and uh, so Um…"

Rick sat up straighter when Michonne nudged him a second time, "So you were at the school today? Everythan' alright?"

"Yeah. Fine. Just wanted to talk to Carl's teachers about the amount of homework he's receiving…"

Michonne didn't mean to tune out from the conversation, but she couldn't help but notice a familiar looking girl walk through the door, immediately lifting her spirits. Karen swiftly spotted her too, and smiled, her heels stomping in the ground as she hurried over, "Oh my god! I haven't seen you in forever!"

Michonne stood up to give her a hug, "I know, how are you?"

"I'm great!", Karen grinned, rocking her side to side as the embraced, before pulling back to look at her with a gasp, "I heard you got caught with the cop?!"

Michonne released a little groan as she cringed, motioning towards the table, "Karen, this is Rick… and Rick's son Carl, and Carl's mother, Lori… obviously you know Andre… Karen and I used to work together"

They all gave Karen a warm greeting, though Michonne couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable Rick looked, and she didn't entirely blame him. Karen squeezed her hand after the introduction, "I'm meeting my date here but we need to catch up, very soon. We miss you down there, even Carol. She always said you were one of her favourite girls"

Michonne wished her old friend would stop talking, "We should catch up. I'll stop by this week or something and see you guys"

"Yes!", Karen hugged her again, before giving everyone at the table a parting wave, "Enjoy your meal! Nice meeting you guys!"

Michonne was far from ashamed of her previous employment, and it wasn't a part of her life that she would hide, but it wasn't something she thought as appropriate to discuss, especially in the presence of Carl. She took a seat again and tried her best to ignore the increasingly awkward atmosphere.

"...She looks like someone Shane would chase after", Lori quipped, watching Karen strut to one of the booths on the other side of the diner.

Rick made a pathetic attempt to glance behind him, "Yeah. Maybe"

"You could probably set them up. Have you met Shane?", Her eyes darted to Michonne.

She gave a little nod, "Yeah, I have. He's very funny... Quite the character, actually"

"He's a pain in the… _you know what_ ", Rick muttered, his head jerking back by an inch as he studied the picture he was helping Andre scribble on.

Michonne rolled her eyes as she snickered at him, "He's funny. They all are"

"Well… without making things anymore awkward...", Lori began ironically, "I'd just like to say that I'm actually glad that this has happened…"

Rick's eyes snapped up to meet Lori's, while Michonne could only hope that the woman wouldn't say anything that would garner a negative reaction.

"...I can see that you're all pretty acquainted with each other and…", Lori huffed, her eyes darting back and forth between them, "I think this whole situation had the possibility to get really ugly but I think that this is good. Despite what Rick might be thinking right now, I'm just trying to get to know his new girlfriend. I know you've been around Carl, and speaking from mother to mother, I just want to make sure that my child is surrounded by good people and… it would have been nice if Rick could have reassured me about you but… here we are"

Michonne was pleasantly surprised with her message, and she found herself able to relate to some of Lori's words. She was right after all, as they weren't in an ideal situation, and there was plenty of room for things to deteriorate, but Michonne was fairly certain that she adored Rick too much to see herself without him, so for the sake of everyone's sanity, it would be best if they could all get along. She gave the other woman a warm smile, "I understand and I agree"

Rick didn't look as convinced by her speech, but still he slowly nodded his head as his eyes darted all over her face, "Yeah."

Lori seemed to blow a sigh of relief, tucking her long bangs behind her ears, "Great. That's great"

Michonne looked towards the boys, hoping they weren't growing bored of the adult conversation. Andre was scribbling away enthusiastically, refusing to colour within the lines, which came as no surprise to her, but when her eyes caught Carl's she was shocked to see the boy was almost glaring at her, his bright blue eyes void of the boyish charm she has seen in him previously. He broke contact first, dropping his steely gaze to the picture Andre was working on, leaving Michonne to look away in shock.

She didn't have the faintest idea what she did to earn such a scornful look off Carl, and she couldn't mistake it as a misunderstanding as he simply didn't say another word to her for the rest of the meal. It made her uncomfortable, so much so that the first chance she got to say something to Rick, she leapt for it.

"He was a little quiet but he gets bored easily", Rick insisted as he watched his son bid farewell to his mother by her car in the parking lot.

Michonne shook her head as she finished fastening Andre in the car seat Rick had purchased for him, "Rick it wasn't a boredom look, he was nearly glaring at me"

He glanced at her strangely, "I think he's your biggest fan"

"Not anymore he's not", She scoffed, tilting her head at him, "Have you even talked to him about what's going on with us?"

Rick immediately cringed, biting the corner of his lip as he shook his head, "Nah. I wasn't really sure how. I mean I planned to but I wanted him to get to know you guys first"

Michonne's face fell, and so did her shoulders, "Well I think you might need to-"

"He's coming", Rick informed in a hiss, straightened up as he smiled at his son, "Hey, ready to go buddy?"

"Yeah", Carl replied when he was close enough, able to smile at his father at least, "Are we going home now?"

"Yeah, and I'll let you pick up the movie for us to watch"

Carl's eyes crept in Michonne's direction but he didn't look at her directly, and she could tell that he didn't like the idea of them going home with them after all, so she spoke up, "Uh, maybe me and Andre can give tonight a miss? It's getting late and he looks tired…"

Rick frowned at her before looking at Andre, who was rocking side to side in his car seat, humming a little tune. Her son couldn't look anymore bright eyed even if he tried. Rick's eyes rolled back up to meet Michonne's, a single brow raised, "Are we looking at the same child?"

"He always does that before he goes to sleep…", She lied, flicking her locks over her shoulder, "We can reschedule or something…"

It was almost painfully obvious that she was making an excuse and Rick wasn't buying it, but Carl didn't seem to care either way, standing beside his father with an unimpressed expression. His father sighed as he reluctantly agreed, "Alright. Another time"

Before finding herself on the receiving end of Carl's hard looks, Michonne would have loved the idea of the four of them spending time together at Rick's apartment. She had already decided that she cherished her son's relationship with Rick, finding it the most adorable thing to witness, and she hoped that she could form something similar with Carl, once she discovered the reason behind his change of attitude, of course.

The drive home wasn't a warm one, and Michonne received a flash of the world's coldest smile from Carl before he retrieved his game console from his bag and started playing. Rick closed the passenger door after retrieving Andre, and spoke quietly to Michonne, "I'll talk to him tonight. I probably should have explained thangs a little more clearly to him, but I weren't expecting all this to happen"

Michonne slowly nodded as she watched Andre staring up at Rick in his arms, "Yeah, neither was I"

He sighed, adjusting the toddler, "I really wanted us to-"

"I know you wanted us to hang out but-"

"I wasn't going to say that", He informed flatly, "You still owe me some adult time"

Michonne covered her face as she laughed, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, "I do, don't I?"

"You do, and you have yet to sit on my face", Rick grinned, his eyes flashing with amusement until he noticed Andre still staring at him, "I'm so glad that you can't understand what I'm saying to your mother"

"Yeah, how about we save that talk for another time", Michonne reached for her son, "We'll set a date"

"Fine", Rick pouted, "Alright bud- I mean, Rocket. Time for you to go home"

"Bu-bye dad", Andre chimed, waving a little hand at Rick, causing Michonne's eyes to widen, and Rick's mouth to fall open.

She took hold of Andre and shifted from foot to foot nervously, "Uh… I don't- I don't know what that was? He's never-"

"Maybe because of Carl?", Rick quickly ejected, using his thumb to point at his truck, "He was copying him earlier so maybe-"

"Yeah! That's right!", She explained, throwing her free hand up in the air, "That's what that was… he probably thinks your name is-"

"Yeah", Rick agreed, setting his hands at his sides as he nodded enthusiastically. His gaze dropped to the concrete beneath them for a short time, before he brought it back up to meet hers, cringing as he spoke, "...I mean, it's not really a _bad_ thang…"

Michonne squinted at Rick as she pursed her lips, hoping the look she gave him would communicate what she felt without having to speak.

Rick held his hands up in surrender, "You're right, it's too soon, I agree"

"Way too soon", She repeated, adjusting her son as he tugged at her locks, "So… I'll call you when he's in bed and we can talk without little, impressionable ears nearby"

He bit his lip in a way like he often did when he blushed, "Yeah, alright"

She backed up onto the lawn, fluttering her fingers at him as she waved, "Bye Rick"

"Bye Michonne".


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

"What's this about? I'm not in trouble, am I? I _literally_ haven't done anything"

Rick sighed as he eyed his son from the recliner near the couch, choosing his first few words wisely, "I've been meaning to talk to you about somethan' quite important, but I've been putting it off so that when I did finally talk to you, you'd feel a little better about… it"

Carla dark brows furrowed, "What is it?"

"...You know that your mother and I aren't together anymore, right?", Rick watched him closely, "I mean we are getting a divorce but we'll still be-"

"It's this about Michonne being your girlfriend?", Carl ejected a little flatly.

Rick froze for a brief moment, "Yeah, it is. I wanted to know how you feel about that?"

Carl immediately shrugged, dropping his gaze elsewhere, "I don't know. Whatever, I guess"

"No, I don't wanna' hear 'whatever', I wanna' know how you feel about it? And if that upsets you somehow?", Rick pressed, sitting forward so his elbows rested on his knees, "Go on, you can tell me"

Carl's bright blue eyes darted back to his, "Fine, why?"

"Why?", He repeated, squinting at his son.

"Yeah, why? Why do you… just why?"

Rick inhaled until his lungs were at full capacity, "Because I really like Michonne, and up until yesterday I was sure you did too?"

Carl squirmed in his seat, "Yeah…"

"What is it about her being my girlfriend that makes you uncomfortable? Were you hoping me and your mother would get back together? Or are you scared about how that might change thangs around here?"

"...I don't know", His son nearly growled, his annoyance becoming apparent, "I just feel like you and mom act weird around each other and...you don't tell me anything… and now you have a girlfriend… I don't know…"

"You do know. You just said it; you feel like your mother and I don't communicate with you, and that's a fair thang to say. I guess we get so caught up with trying to protect you that we don't realise that we're doing more harm than good, and I apologise for making you feel that way", Rick offered sincerely, "I just… I really wanted you to get to know Michonne and Andre before I sprang any more news on you. I didn't want you to feel like she was a stranger when I did finally tell you"

Carl began to fidget, his fingernail scratching at the couch, "What about mom?"

"Your mother…", Rick ran his hand over her face, "I will always care about your mother, but in a different way to what you knew. The two of us realised some time ago that we weren't good parents to you when we were under the same roof, and that wasn't fair on you. We wanted to be better parents because that's what you deserve, and your needs will always be our top priority"

Carl only appeared mildly satisfied with his response, "...And Michonne? Has she always been your girlfriend?"

"I guess you can say that…", Rick admitted, "But you've had fun with her, right? You enjoyed the times that we hung out with her and Andre?"

"I did…", Carl shrugged a second time, "But it's… weird"

"...Do you feel like everythan's moved on around you and you can't catch up?", Rick probed, "Because that's not the case? And it's not her fault if you do feel that way, it's mine. I should have been the person to talk to you about this"

Carl's gaze seemed glued to the floor, "But if mom gets a boyfriend then where do I fit in?"

"You fit in with us", Rick insisted with an edge to his tone, "And you'll always belong with us. Are family might be changing but that doesn't mean that you'll get pushed out, it means that we'll have more people around us. Look at the time when we were at the park; it was just the four of us and we made it work, didn't we?"

"Yeah…", Carl agreed dryly, "We did"

"I know it's new and different, and maybe even a little scary because you don't know what to expect, but I don't want you to see any of this as somethan' bad, and I don't want you to think that your place in my life or your mother's life is replaceable. You're my son, and that means I love you more than absolutely everythan', myself included"

Carl shifted awkwardly in his seat as he groaned, "Okay, I know"

Rick squinted at him, "What? I can't tell you that I love you? Is that not cool?"

"Not really", He started to snicker, "But thanks"

"I wanna' hear you say it back", Rick insisted, fighting back a smile.

"Oh my god", Carl recoiled, muttering quietly, "I love you too"

"I can't hear you? I'm getting older now so you have to speak up?", Rick cupped a hand around his ear, "One more time"

"I said I fucking love you!", Carl sighed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Alright, no need to shout, I heard you the first time", Rick chuckled evilly as he stood up, "And for the hundredth time, watch your mouth"

"Got it"

Rick was about to make his way to the kitchen, but he stopped himself, "So are you feeling a little better about all this?... about Michonne?"

Carl glanced up at him as she reached for the TV remote on the coffee table, and Rick had to wonder if his son ever got tired of shrugging, since he did it so much, "Uh...okay, I guess?"

He tilted his head at Carl as he repeated, "Okay? You guess?"

"Yeah. I mean… I don't know what you want me to say? I just feel… okay?"

Rick decided that was as much sense as he was going to get out of his son, "Alright. You feel okay so… I'll take that"

It wasn't as if he had a choice since Carl was still a young boy after all, and he hadn't learnt how to articulate his feelings yet, and Rick was sure that he didn't want to, but he felt better now that the topic of Michonne out in the open. He hoped Carl would grow more comfortable with the idea once he saw that any changes that did happen were for the better. Michonne seemed eager to spark up bond with his son, and even Andre looked ready to trade him in for the younger model, so Rick wished that Carl would soon see that chances of him being left out were non-existent.

After spending the remainder or their Sunday evening eating dinner while watching a movie, Rick sent his son to bed before retiring to his own room to call Michonne like he did everything night, but he was surprised to hear another familiar voice at the end of the line.

"Mommy got ice cream", Andre informed happily, "Chocolate!"

"Oh yeah? Well that's great! But shouldn't you be in bed now, buddy?", Rick peered at his wristwatch as he sat back against his headboard, "You have day-care tomorrow"

" _No_!", Andre whined, "Ice-cream!"

"How did you even answer the phone? Where's mommy?"

"Mommy got ice cream-"

"Andre do you have my phone?", Michonne questioned firmly in the background, "Mommy was looking for that!"

"No! Mine!", The toddler argued, leading Rick to snigger quietly as he listened.

"You have day-care tomorrow so you have to go to sleep- oh my God, did you call- hello? Rick?"

"Yeah, I'm here, and I don't appreciate you interrupting our important conversation about ice cream. Chocolate ice cream", Rick joked, barely able to keep a straight face.

"Oh my god! Okay, you have to go to sleep Mister, I meant it! Hold on to Frank and lay down or else you're going to be really grumpy in the morning"

"...He has a toy called Frank?", Rick repeated as he narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him.

"That's the turtle he got from the fair", Michonne sighed.

"He named it Frank?", Rick began laughing again, "That's funny"

"There's nothing wrong with the name Frank. I actually like it"

"He said you got ice cream? What's the occasion?"

"Hunger, Rick", She snickered, sounding as if she had closed a door, "We ordered pizza for dinner because mom's gone out with her friends… well, so she says. I think it's a guy"

Rick's eyebrows sprung up in surprise, "Oh?"

"Yeah. This is like the third weekend she's gone out and she doesn't usually wear so much perfume but I could smell it from down the hall"

"We'll follow her the next time she goes out"

Laughter rang out from Michonne, "We can't do that! If she found out she'd kill us both"

"...After seeing her get Mike's mom in a choke hold, I have no probably believing that", Rick grinned at the memory, "Have you heard from him by the way?"

"No and I'm starting to hope it stays that way"

Rick raked his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, I can see why"

"So… Did you talk to Carl?", She asked lightly, as if she was trying to hide the apprehension from her tone.

"I did actually. He's… He's _okay_ with you and Andre, he's just… I think he's scared that he's going to be pushed aside-"

"What? No- Why would he think-"

"I know, I know. He just needs reassurance and I need to be more involved, and I need to involve him more. It's all on me right now so you have nothing to worry about"

"I do have something to worry about- I don't want him to feel that way"

Rick sighed tiredly, "Do you remember when I told you that Lori and I used to act more like friends than parents?"

"Yes, I do"

"Well I'm still trying to fix that", He confessed flatly, "There's still a lot of residue to clear up from the terrible decisions we made, and I'm working on it"

Michonne was silent for a short while, then she huffed, "But I can still help?"

Rick immediately smiled, "I got somethan' else you can help me with?"

"Stop it!", She scolded, though he knew she was probably beaming from ear to ear, "One task at a time"

"Oh no, I can multitask, it's why God gave me two hands, one tongue and one-"

Michonne squealed like she often did when she was shy, "Rick!"

He bit his bottom lip as the smile spread across his face, "I can't wait for you to finish class tomorrow because we are overdue for some alone time"

It had been quite some time since Rick was able to pounce on his stunningly beautiful girlfriend, and that thought alone was his driving force the next day, as he cooked Carl a large breakfast before school, then speeding through the city to get him there on time. With his offspring safely in the building Rick raced back home to clean his home from top to bottom, making sure every surface shined and that there was a clear path to the bedroom. He used his favourite silk black sheets on his bed and made sure condoms were in an arm's reach, so there would be no delaying the earth shattering event he had planned for her.

"Aye! Open the door man!", Shane bellowed as he banged on the front door, while Rick was in the middle of deciding whether he should bother wearing boxers under his jeans.

He groaned as he marched to the door, yanking his t-shirt over his head, "What do you want?!"

"I need to talk to you! Now!", Shane demanded as he burst into his apartment, "What the hell is going on around here? First you have your girlfriend out on the field, then I can't get through to you when I call? What else are you changing without consulting me?"

"My address", Rick retaliated dryly as he closed the door with his foot, "Now what do you want?"

"So she's serious about this? She's joining us? Or are you trying to break off and have your own little thang? Like Bonnie and Clyde or somethan'?"

"Bonnie and Clyde were criminals", Rick pointed out as he walked past Shane to get to the kitchen, "So that was a bad reference"

"You know what I mean!", Shane snapped back, hands at his sides, "Well?"

"No one is breaking off anythan', alright? She wants to try it out and I'm helping her-"

"What if she gets hurt? Did you think about that?"

"She already got hurt but that won't deter her", Rick shook his head with despair, "Why are you so worried anyway?"

"Because she's a female! They're more delicate than us! That's why God made them beautiful and us ugly, so it's alright if we get busted up because we won't lose much"

Rick's eyebrows fell into a straight line as he looked at his best friend, "Do you hear any of the thangs you say? Or is it just like white noise after all these years?"

"You know what I mean, man", Shane snorted, taking a seat on the stool as he looked around him, "And we're gonna' have to tone down the 'guy talk'-"

"I'd appreciate it if you toned that down anyway, regardless if she's there are not"

Shane's brown eyes zeroed in on Rick, his face tightening as he put on his stern expression, "Can you be serious for just five minutes, please?"

Rick's eyebrows sprung up in surprise, "Oh, I'm sorry? Are you being deadly serious right now? I can never tell"

"I'm always serious, you're the one that finds a joke in everythan', always adding your little commentary or your one liners-"

"Shane, what do you want me to tell you?", Rick sighed, bowing his head as he pinched his nose bridge with his thumb and index finger, "She wants to join and I'm adamantly, wholeheartedly against the idea, but I'd rather she was with me. And I mean that in every aspect possible"

"Ugh", Shane's lip curled in disgust, "Save all that romantic talk for her"

Rick snickered at him as he leaned on the counter, "So anythan' else I can help you with? No? Alright, well it was nice seeing you-"

"What… what the hell is going on here? Why's this place so clean? I can damn near see myself in the marble?", Shane's dark brows furrowed as he swivelled around in his seat, inspecting the apartment.

"I'm busy, now go"

"I can smell flowers or somethan'? What is that?"

"Get out!"

"Ohh!", Shane's face immediately lit up as he put the pieces of the puzzle together himself, swivelling back around to look at Rick, "Michonne's not _that_ hurt, huh? All the fun parts still work?"

Rick couldn't think of anything worse than discussing his plans with Michonne with someone like Shane, so he ignored him as he stomped back out the kitchen area, "Leave!"

In spite of his protests, Shane still hung around until Rick left to collect Michonne, leading him to race through the city for the third time that day, and probably not the last time either. He parked in his usual space in the parking lot and waited, leaning on the passenger door as he looked across the large grass area, hoping they'd have enough time together before they'd have to pick up Andre from day-care.

His mind travelled to her son, and he smiled when he remembered the toddler calling him 'Dad'. Rick had always dreaded watching Carl grow up, wishing he had a chance to go back and witness his early years once again, so it was suffice to say that Andre was secretly fulfilling that desire.

"What are you smiling about?", Michonne purred as she approached him with narrowed eyes.

"Just thinking", He grinned, pulling her into an embrace when she was close enough, "You look great"

"Thank you… I actually have a surprise for you", She whispered, her fingers toying with the hair at his nape.

"...Does the surprise involve lace?", He pulled back to look at her, his grin growing.

"No. It doesn't involve _anything_ at all, actually"

Rick began to frown at her, trying to figure out what she meant when the penny finally dropped and his eyes almost bulged, "As in? You mean? You're-"

"Yep. I'm going _commando_ ", She bit her bottom lip as she smiled up at him, sending all the blood in Rick's body to one specific area.

With one swift movement, Rick had her by the waist with one hand while opening the passenger side door with the other, "Let's go"

She cackled evilly as he all but hurled her in his truck, obviously pleased with the reaction to her gift. Rick sprinted to the driver's side and hoped in, fighting the visuals that threatened to cross his mind, while Michonne only saw the funny side, "It's a good thing it wasn't windy today-"

"You think this is funny?", He raised an eyebrow at her as he started the car, "Do you have any idea what you've done to me?"

She gave him one of her flirtatious giggles, "I'm sorry"

"You're not", He snapped back dryly.

"You're right, I'm not", She shrugged, reaching into her backpack, "So what happened with that guy? After police took him? Caesar was it?"

Rick reversed out of the space, "They set a new date for him to-"

"Hey!", Someone yelled a second before Rick heard a thud come from the back of his car.

They both froze as he stopped the vehicle, his eyes wide as he looked in the rear-view mirror, "Did you-"

"I heard it", Michonne gasped, turning in her seat to look behind her, "I think you hit something, or someone"

"What? No, I couldn't have…", Rick insisted as he unfastened his seatbelt and quickly exited the car. He hoped and wished that he just hit another vehicle, or even a pole, but when he reached the back of his truck and saw Mike on the floor, with his bag and books spilled out around him, his eyes wide with horror and hands trembling as she peered at his foot, stuck beneath the tyre, Rick realised he was grossly mistaken, "...Oh boy"

It seemed as if the pain had finally hit Mike, as he began to cry and howl like a wounded animal, while Rick cringed as he made his way back to the driver's seat.

"Oh my god, Rick! What is that?! Did you hit a dog?!", Michonne quizzed, beginning to open up her car door.

"I hit Mike", Rick replied quickly as he hoped in the car and started it up again, "His foot's stuck"

Michonne's mouth hung open as her eyes bulged, " _What_?!"

"Yeah, he's stuck back there- Shit!", Rick cursed as he accidently reversed again, causing Mike to scream even louder. Rick surged forward, hoping he'd freed the younger male, "I've never hit anyone in my entire adult life, and the first time I do it just _has_ to be him- what the hell was he even doing back there? Was he hiding under my truck?-"

"We have to take him to the hospital", Michonne announced with a hint of regret in her tone as she climbed out the car, "We can't just leave him there"

Rick had to purse his lips together tightly as he agreed, fighting the urge to reverse again.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

"Rick, stop smiling"

Michonne watched her boyfriend try to force a serious expression his face, but he was only able to hold it for a second or two before he grinned again, "I know it shouldn't-"

"Exactly", She insisted firmly, "It's not funny"

"He's lucky that it was just his foot", Rick shrugged, pushing off the wall as he peered down the hall of the hospital, "That's what happens when you hide under somebody's truck- and I don't care what he says, I didn't shut the door on his foot on purpose"

Michonne narrowed her eyes at him, "The first time."

Ricks eyebrows sprung up as he tried to appear innocent, "Both times"

She shouldn't have snickered but he never failed to make her laugh, "We'll find out what he was doing as soon as the doctors finished, then we'll go. They probably called his parents and I really don't want to be here when they get here"

His face tightened and his shoulders squared, "Well if they do get here and they say anythan'-"

Michonne reached out her hand and placed it on his bicep, "I think you've had enough fun for the day"

His expression softened so much that Michonne had to question the last time she saw him look so disappointed, "I haven't had any fun at all. We were meant to be having fun back at my place right now. Or at least getting ready for a second round of fun"

Laughter burst from her lips as she dropped her head onto his arm, "I know, I know"

"All I keep thinking about is the fact that you're not wearing anythan' under that", He complained, "It's probably why I shut the door on his foot so many times. My mind was elsewhere"

She pouted as she lifted her head to look at him, "We might still have a little time left after this?"

"Yeah, maybe…", He agreed sadly, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him, "I think it will get easier when you start staying over at my place"

"Oh?", Her eyebrows rose with surprise, "When do we plan on starting that?"

"Tonight."

She chuckled as she gazed up at him adoringly, "Tonight, huh? You think you're ready to have me and Andre running around your apartment?"

"Of course", He grinned down at her, "Whenever you want"

"And what about my mom? She's part of the deal you know…"

"Marie can do whatever the hell she wants. I wouldn't argue with a woman that could probably put me in a chokehold"

Michonne laughed into his shirt as she bowed her head, "I wouldn't either"

The door nearest to them clicked open, causing them both to turn around just as two nurses left the room holding an abundance of medical equipment in their hands. Rick tipped his head towards the room, signalling for Michonne to go ahead first.

Mike had been changed into a hospital gown and was sat propped up in the bed, wearing an unfriendly scowl when he saw Michonne enter with Rick. He looked like a miserable little child with his arms crossed over his chest as he spat, "I don't want him in here"

Rick slowly inhaled as he placed his hands on his waist, "I don't think you're in any position to change that"

"Why were you hiding under his truck?", Michonne quickly asked, stopping by the end of his bed, "You could have come away a lot worse"

"l wasn't hiding under his truck", Mike replied angrily, "Why would I do that? That's stupid-"

"But you are stupid", Rick added, "So it's not too farfetched"

Mike's scowl returned, "Why don't you-"

"Hey! Cut it out!", Michonne snapped, trying to take their attention off of each other, "Seriously Mike, why were you even there? If you were just walking to your own car then he would have seen you"

Mike stared at her while explaining flatly, "I dropped my book and bent over to pick it up"

She frowned at him, "You could have said something? Or just waited until we moved out the way- it's a big truck, what were you thinking?"

"I was- hey! Hey! What is doing?", Mike sat up even straighter when he saw Rick make a beeline for his backpack on the other side of the room, "Get out of here!"

"I'm just taking a little look around", Rick rasped, snatching the bag off of the chair, where the rest of his belongings sat, "Feel free to get up and stop me"

"I'm getting the nurses in here", Mike growled, hastily looking around the area around him, "Where's that remote?"

Michonne watched Rick Mike's backpack and being rummaging around, "I can bet I'll find somethan' questionable in here"

"Nurse!", Mike yelled, having swiftly given up looking for the remote, "Nurse!"

"Your bag was open when I found you, so you could have been kneeling… looking for somethan'...Maybe a flick blade, pocket knife...", Rick smirked as he retrieved a shiny, silver object from the bag, holding it up for Mike to see, "Or a box cutter?"

Michonne's eyes widened as she looked from the little weapon to Mike, who began to shake his head as he protested, "I use that for work"

"And probably to scratch a few cars", Rick chucked the backpack back in the chair, "Because you definitely couldn't slash my tyres with this"

Michonne didn't say anything as she folded her arms over her chest, instead she was waiting for Mike to explain himself, but he had other ideas, "I told you, I dropped my books and I bent down to pick it up, I don't have time to sit around, plotting to scratch your truck-"

"So where was you heading then? After you planned to pick up your book? Where you heading towards your car?", Rick quizzed, cocking his head to one side.

"That's why I was in the parking lot in the first place, asshole", Mike snarled at him, "Why else?"

"So your car's still there? In the parking lot? And if we were to head back there, your car would still be sitting there?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Obviously it would because I'm here!"

"Then your car would be near mine? Or at least on that side of the parking lot? If that's where you were heading, then your car should be in that area?"

Mike's paused, his lips pursing as he glared at Rick, "...I can't remember"

"Oh I bet", Rick smirked, pocketing the box cutter in his jeans, "I'll hold on to this for you, just in case you get any bright ideas in the future"

It was as if Mike remembered Michonne was in the room as he looked to her with slight alarm, "Look, you can't believe this-"

She held up her hand to stop him, "Don't. We're leaving"

Michonne didn't stick around to see the look of shock on his face as she spun on the balls of her feet and started towards the door with Rick right behind her.

With everything else that had happened, she really should have expected Mike to try and seek his revenge against Rick somehow. He had proven to her time and time again that he had his priorities in the wrong order, and she could no longer force herself to watch him make mistake after mistake.

"...Great detective work back there"

Rick glanced at her as they stepped into the elevator, "Well, I don't want to brag or anythan' but it comes with the job"

She flashed him a brief smile before choosing their floor, "Makes sense"

He watched her closely, and after a brief moment of silence, he announced, "We probably have to get used to that. Him, I mean. I don't think he's going anywhere"

"Of course not. He's Andre's father", She sighed, staring at the doors in front of her, "And I can't stop him seeing him if he does finally decide to act like it"

Rick slowly inhaled, "Well, it would be shame if he we're to have another accident-"

"The other foot?", She giggled, shaking her head his suggestion.

"I can make it look like an accident"

"Can you now?", She raised a neatly plucked eyebrow at him, "And what else can you do?"

His expression immediately changed from an amused one to a serious, lust filled stare, "I can do a hell of a lot"

She felt a flutter in her core, "You know what I mean-"

"And you know what I mean", He grinned, reaching out for her, "And if you don't know then you'll find out soon enough"

Michonne knew exactly what he meant and she didn't need any explanation. It had been quite some time since she let him have his way from her and the more he reminded her, the more desperate she was to have him, so she strapped herself in the passenger seat when they returned to his truck, knowing that Rick planned to race against time.

"Maybe we should think about doing something this weekend? The four of us? It can give me a chance to get in Carl's good books again- Rick!", Her sentence came to a halt with a squeal when the hand that Rick had rested on her knee began to travel further up her leg, "Pay attention to the road!"

"I am", He grinned, giving her thigh a playful squeeze, "Now what were you saying?"

"I said we should do something this weekend. Maybe go to the aquarium or a-"

"Sure. Whatever you want"

"Do you think that's a good idea-", She gasped as his hand moved again, "Rick! Pay attention!"

"It's a great idea. I couldn't think of anythan' better myself, now open your legs", He made his demand in low and throaty tone that sent shivers up her spine.

But she couldn't be that easily distracted, "You can wait a couple of minutes Rick-"

"I can't", He ejected flatly.

Michonne was about to tease him when she was struck with an idea, "We can go to my place? We are closer…"

His fingers stopped trying to squeeze between her thighs, "Your place? Are you sure-"

"My mom doesn't get off work until five, so we'd be fine", She insisted with a devilish smile, "...And I could show you the other outfits I used to wear when I danced…"

Luckily for Michonne, it didn't really take much to convince her boyfriend. He turned off the busy street and began to head towards her home without any prompt.

She was no longer just looking forward to rekindling their romance, she was excited to show him her home too. Rick had made it more than clear that he wanted their lives to intertwine as much as possible, so what better way to do it than to allow him into one of her most personal space. She also secretly hoped that she didn't leave her room in terrible state with.

They arrived at the apartment in record breaking time, and Michonne had to do all she could to stop Rick from touching her on the short walk to her front door, but once inside her home, he was merciless.

"Rick! Let me give you a tour first!", She pleaded while he held her against him, her back against her chest while his hand dived back in between her legs, "The door is still open!"

He used his foot to close it behind him, "Fine, give me the tour"

She thought he'd at least let go of her, but all he did was spin her around to face him, then lift her off the ground, "How can I give you a tour like this?!"

"Just point to your room"

"It's that way-", She almost bit her tongue when she felt him hike up her sweatshirt to expose her bare ass.

"Got it."

When she felt his fingers strumming at her core as he marched like a man with mission across the apartment, Michonne no longer cared what her room looked like. She no longer cared about anything else other than making it to a flat surface.

"This is nice", Rick only took one quick sweep around her room with his eyes before starting to kiss on her neck, "Very nice"

"Bed.", Michonne ordered, her head rolling backwards as she immersed herself in the feel of him, "Now."

"Yes ma'am"

Their clothes came off in a heated frenzy once he sat her on the edge of the bed. Michonne threw her sweatshirt to one side of the room and her bra to the other, then got to work on Rick's belt. She kissed and licked at his taut stomach, eager to free him from the denim he wore. His fingers combed through her hair as he watched her, moving her locks away from her face.

Michonne was pleased to see just how much he wanted her, as member sprang forth, rock hard and ready. Excitement drove her to take the tip in her mouth, hoping to hear him moan in relief, but instead her yelped and removed himself from her mouth.

"What is it?", She quizzed, looking up at him with a frown, "What's wrong?"

He slowly inhaled as he hooked his hands at the back of her knees, "We don't have that much time on our hands, Michonne"

"But I was going to-", She gave up on her protest when he lifted her legs up until he had an ankle at either side of his head, causing her to lay back on her bed.

"Next time", He insisted, one leg kneeling on the bed and the other planted firmly on the carpet, "I won't stop you"

Michonne's breath hitched when she was invaded by his length, forcing her to accept him. All of him. She barely heard the primal groan that Rick gave, too busy familiarizing herself with his touch.

"Fuck", He growled, hands gripping her thighs as he pushed his hips against hers, as if he wanted to be sure every inch of him was buried away inside of her.

Michonne held her sheets in the balls of her fists, her back arched off the bed as she purred, "Oh, Rick!"

"I'm right here", He rasped, slowly beginning to withdraw himself, "Can you feel me?"

She couldn't describe what she felt, Even if her life depended on it, "Yes!"

He drove back inside her with enough momentum to make her cry out, and he didn't stop there. He was setting the pace at something unbearable. Pounding at her core with pure skill and control. She had to ask herself how she could have gone so long without having him.

"Look at me, Michonne", He commanded, his brow glistening.

"I... can't", Was all she could respond, her eyes clamped shut.

He stayed within her as he leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her head on the mattress, her calves on his shoulders. He said it again, "Look at me"

Michonne realised he was toying with her, because when she did finally lock eyes with the stud, he gave her stroke that made her curse at the ceiling.

"I love watching you…", He confessed, returning to his previous pace. Thrust came after thrust, giving her no time to catch her breath. The only reason she covered her mouth with her hand was to stop herself from screaming at the top of her lungs. Her orgasm threatened to take hold of her and she was ready to accept her fate when Rick stopped Mid thrust, turning his head towards the door, "I heard somethan'..."

Michonne opened an eye, "What? Just now-"

Then she heard it, the sound of the door slamming shut, and with that she sat up on her elbows with wide eyes, just as Rick released a low growl from the pit of his stomach, his head falling forward, "Ah shit"

"My mom can't be home now!", She hissed at him, assuming he was upset that their tryst was over, but the sporadic jerks of his member told her otherwise, so she frowned at him, "Did you just…"

"I don't know what the hell you just did", He huffed, shaking his head, "But you did somethan'-"

The sound of a man's booming laughter caught their attention, and Michonne looked towards the door again, "Oh my god, that's a man!"

Rick trembled as he pulled himself out of her, "I'll check it out"

"No!", She grabbed his arm, "She can't know we were here without Andre because then she'll know we had sex and I don't want my mother to know any more details about that side of my life!"

It was Rick's turn to look at the door when her mother's laughter, "Then we are running out of options, Michonne. And time"

She rolled away from him and climbed off the bed, "They might not be staying long? Maybe she just had to get something?"

Rick stood up and grabbed his boxers, "Can you hear anythan'?"

She placed her ear against the bedroom door, trying hard to listen but it seemed that silence has fallen on the household, "Nothing?"

"...Oh", Rick cringed, "They might be… busy then"

Michonne looked at him with a serious expression, "Don't you dare-"

"You're gonna' have to go out there, if the coast is clear then we sneak out but if not then just distract them and I'll sneak out", He yanked his jeans up as he looked around for his shirt, "I'll wait for you outside"

She tried to listen once more, but still she heard nothing, so she huffed, "Alright, fine"

The thought of her mother doing anything with a man made Michonne uncomfortable, and since the matriarch was so secretive when it came to her romantic life, Michonne had to try to conjure up an image of the type of man she could be dating, and how long she could have possibly been seeing him for. Her mind worked overtime as she got dressed, and when she was finally fit for public viewing, she approached the door and listened once more.

"Anythan'?", Rick was beside her in two long strides.

"Nothing", She exhaled tiredly as she put her hand on the door knob, "Wait, here"

Michonne stepped out into the tiny hallway and looked towards the kitchen area, then the lounge. She moved further out, too toeing as lightly as she could in her biker boots, but there was no sign of anyone life to be seen, so she waved her hand for Rick to come out.

He wore the same confused look as her as he emerged from her room, mouthing to her, " _Her bedroom_?"

Michonne looked to her mother's closed bedroom door on the other side of the apartment and almost gagged, but she nodded instead.

Rick took her arm as he headed towards the door, "Alright, come on-"

"I think I got one in my wallet", They heard a man declare from behind her mother's door, leading Michonne and Rick to whip their heads around in shock, "It's on the kitchen counter"

Rick reached for the front door and yanked it open, pulling Michonne outside with him before she could see any more than a glimpse of the naked stranger that began to step into view.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

"He really got you there, didn't he?"

Rick spat blood onto the gravel as he trudged back to his truck, "Yeah. He can brag about it when he wakes up"

Daryl smirked as he lit a cigarette, walking a few paces behind Rick, "We got another out of town gig next week"

"Yeah? Where?", Rick quizzed, pulling his car keys out of his jean pocket.

"Savannah. Some guy called Andrew… can't remember his last name… but he's been hiding for a long time now", Daryl informed between drags and puffs, "His bail was set at five hundred thousand"

Rick's head whipped around to look at his friend, "Yeah?"

"Yep", Daryl walked around to the passenger side, "Apparently he's been hiding out down there. Won't be easy though, I've seen pictures of his house... the man lives in a fortress"

One would think that after spending the early hours of the morning wrestling with a wanted man behind a motel that Rick would want to rethink any other dangerous missions that Daryl presented him with, but he didn't, "Alright. Sign me up"

They climbed into his truck and left the parking lot in silence aa they were both too tired to speak. Well, that's what Rick thought until he heard Daryl ask, "You gonna' bring 'Chonne along for this?"

He squinted at the windshield, "Michonne?"

"That's what I said."

Rick wasn't aware that they could rename each other's partners, "Nah, probably not"

Daryl slowly nodded as he looked out the passenger window, "Aright"

Rick wasn't sure why he felt it necessary to add, "Andre's still pretty young…"

Daryl spun his head around to look at him again, "Huh?"

"Andre, her son. He's still young and I don't think he'd like to be without her for too long. I don't think she's even left him for that long yet", Rick explained, leading his friend to blink at him with a dumbfounded look. He began to ramble, "I don't know what Shane's told you but she's serious about this. I mean, she was a little too excited the last time… ended up breaking her hand- but uh, nah, I think she should sit this one out. Maybe the next one that comes along that isn't as far. Or dangerous"

Daryl continued to stare at him, "...I didn't say anythan'-"

"I know you didn't", Rick breathed, rubbing his face with one of his hands as they stopped at a red light, "But you don't think I'm nuts for this, right?"

His friend shrugged, his face pinching with confusion, "I don't know man. Y'all can do what you want"

Rick realised that he wouldn't get a more elaborate response from the quietest friend in his group, so he decided to leave the topic alone, "Alright."

He didn't know why he felt the need to explain himself to Daryl, but ever since Shane had barged in his apartment voicing his concern, Rick wondered how the others felt about Michonne possibly joining them. He knew Glenn would probably appreciate another person present, since he seemed to be the one who got along with her the most, and Daryl appeared to be completely indifferent about it, so it was just Shane that he had to worry about.

Rick took a shower shortly after arriving home, having dropped Daryl off at his own apartment so he was free to unwind in peace. With the sun threatening to come up, he really wanted to get to bed as soon as he could, but it was just as he laid his head on his pillow that his phone rang from on his nightstand, forcing him to release a low growl.

"I can't sleep", Michonne declared quietly.

Rick pulled himself up to lean against the headboard of his bed, fighting off the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, "Yeah. Neither can I"

"I can't even look her in the eye, Rick. And I can't get that naked guy out of my head"

He frowned at the wall in front of him, "Please try?"

"I'm being serious!", She tried to stress, but he knew she was probably smiling, "Why is she being so secretive about this? It's not like I would object- I want her to have someone, I just… I hope he's nice to her and he's treating her well…"

"Well it sounded like-"

"If you're about to say what I think you're about to say, then _don't_.", She warned.

Rick bit his bottom lip to suppress a chuckle, "I was actually going to say that they sounded as if they get along great. They were laughing a lot before things got… awkward"

Michonne groaned, "Don't remind me"

He exhaled tiredly, "Has she been acting the same?"

"She's even happier than usual! Singing to Andre and dancing around the kitchen. It's sweet but gross because I know exactly why she's in such a good mood… and I start to question all the times she didn't answer her phone when I finished class- what if she's been sneaking home for a while now with this guy? Why hasn't she told me about him?...Rick? Rick!"

Rick's eyes snapped open as jumped, "Huh?"

"You're falling asleep, aren't you?"

He rubbed his face harshly with his free hand, "No, I'm up"

She giggled, "Go to sleep, I'll call you later"

"Nah, its fine"

"So what did I say before?"

Ricks gaze darted all over his room as he tried to recall what she said before he drifted off, "Something about a kitchen"

"What about a kitchen?"

"...That you _like_ kitchens?", He knew he was wrong, but his little joke earned him a lovely little chuckle from his girlfriend, "Somethan' like that?"

"Yeah, something like that", She sighed happily, "I'll call you later and we can figure out what we're going to do this weekend"

"Sounds good to me"

"And you said you'd take me to the shooting range so we need to set that up"

"Got it"

"Great. Well, goodnight"

"Alright, I love you, bye", Rick lowered the phone from his ear and hung up, but stared at the screen for a moment as he realised just what he had said to Michonne. His eyes slowly began to widen, and before he could think better of it, he retrieved her number and proceeded to call her back.

"...Hey?", Michonne managed to stretch out the two syllable word for an extra second as she greeted him again.

Rick could feel his cheeks begin flame, "Uh, hey?… Did you um, did you catch what I just… what I said?"

"...I did."

He bit his lip for a brief time as he tried to figure out what could be going through her mind, "... I don't know where that came from, it just… it rolled off my tongue pretty easily and-"

"I love you too, Rick", She declared softly, so softly that he almost didn't hear her.

He stilled from shock, but began to smile with delight, "Yeah?"

"Yes."

"...You mean that? I don't want you to feel obligated to say it back just because I blurted it out-"

"I do mean it, Rick", She insisted cheerfully, "I promise"

A wide, goofy smile appeared on his face as he sat up straight, "...I'm wide awake now"

He heard her chuckle on the other end of the line, "You need some rest"

"I can't now, I wanna' to see you", He kicked his sheets off his legs and climbed out of bed excitedly.

"It's almost five, Rick!", She whispered harshly, "You can see me later on-"

"I'll be there in about ten- fifteen minutes?"

"No!-".

Rick didn't like the fact that he had to hang up the phone on Michonne, but he needed to get dressed in order to driver over to her home.

He was almost giddy to hear her say she loved him back, and knowing that she meant it made her declaration even more astounding. He had believed that the first time he confessed his love for her, he would have planned the moment meticulously beforehand. Possibly over a candlelit dinner, or after a passionate night in bed together, but the words fell from his lips with such little effort that he didn't care that he was half asleep when he said them. Hearing her say it back made the moment perfect.

After pulling on a pair of jeans that had seen better days, a t-shirt and his trusted boots, Rick left his apartment with a spring in his step. The sun was making an appearance in the horizon, but it was still relatively dark outside, and luckily for him, the streets were empty.

In his mind he rehearsed what he would say to Michonne when he saw her. While telling her that he loved her spoke volumes by itself, he wanted to say more. The floodgates had been opened, and he was ready to pour his heart out.

"What's all that on your face?", Sadly for Rick, he wasn't planning on being caught off guard when he finally did make it to Michonne's home.

She stood before him in an adorable red and white plaid pyjama set, with her hair plopped onto of her head in a messy bun which was barely contained by the scarf she wore around it. But it was the thick, white substance that covered everything but her eyes and mouth that left Rick dumbfounded. She huffed as she placed a hand on her hip, "It's my night cream"

He frowned at her, "You sleep with that on? How?"

"I sleep on my back", She shrugged, possibly frowning at him too but Rock couldn't tell.

"...You look like that lady from that movie, you know the one that pretends to be an old nanny, but really she's a man and she put a her face in a cake when the-"

"You are hilarious", She retorted dryly, as she stepped aside, "Just come inside"

Rick eyed her strangely as he stepped into the quiet, dimly lit apartment, "I honestly wasn't expecting that- you sleep with that every night?"

"Not every night", She corrected, "Every other night"

"Doesn't Andre get scared? Or is he used to seeing mommy sleep like a vampire-", Rick had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing when he saw Michonne glaring at him from behind her face mask.

"Bedroom. Now", She demanded, pointing in the direction of the hall that led to her room.

"Yes ma'am", Rick virtually tiptoed his way through the apartment and into her bedroom, where he quickly spotted a sleeping Andre in his crib, and to his surprise the toddler was wearing a set of headphones. He peered back at Michonne with an even deeper frown than before, "Why?"

"They're soundproof", She explained as she closed the door behind her, "He used to be a very light sleeper. If I even coughed then he would wake up - So I got him those from garage sale down the street- the guy selling them was in a rock band"

Rick slowly nodded as he looked at the toddler, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "I wish I had thought of that with Carl. I think he'd get them now so he doesn't have to listen to me talk"

Michonne sniggered as she sat down on her bed, "That's not true, he adores you"

Rick joined her, bending one leg in front of him so he could completely face her, "I feel as though I can't even see you"

She ignored him, "You couldn't wait until later to come over?"

"No", He reached for her hand and held it between his, "I couldn't, and I'm glad I didn't"

She dipped her head to hide her bashful smile, "You're making me blush"

"Well I definitely can't tell"

She groaned at his joke before chortling, playfully pulling her hand away from him, "You can leave now"

"Never", He took hold of her waist and pulled to sit on his lap, his eyes glued to hers as he rasped tenderly, "I really do love you. I had all this stuff I planned to say to you on the way over here but… it's not enough. Not when I'm sitting right in front of you. You leave me speechless"

He heard a soft sigh escape before she replied, "I love you too, and that was perfect"

Rick grinned up at her, until his gaze fell to her lips, "Can I even kiss you with that on?"

"Yes, now do it"

He chuckled silently as he leaned forward and caught her lips with his. The feeling of her warm, full lips against his sent all his thoughts swimming away, which is why he didn't mind that his nose was covered in some of her night cream.

However, Michonne found that amusing, and she was soon giggling against his lips, "Maybe I was wrong…"

Rick almost crossed his eyes to take a peek at his nose, "I better have skin softer than Andre's when I take this off"

"You will", She insisted, using her thumb to wipe some the cream off his face, "So what am I going to do with you tonight?"

His eyebrows shot up suggestively as he thought of all the possible replies he had to her question, until he remembered that they were far from alone, "...Never mind"

Michonne glanced back at her bed, "You could sleep here? My mom doesn't really come in here anyway and Andre has clothes in her room, so I can get him dressed in there"

"I think I've told you before that I really don't want to get on Marie's bad side", He reminded her, "She had Mike's mom in a _choke hold_ -"

"It's fine, just get comfortable while I'm going to the bathroom to touch my mask up", She declared, standing from his lap.

"What if she decides that today's the day she needs to come in here-"

"Shhh!", She hushed, already heading towards the door, "You better be in bed by the time I'm done"

He raised an eyebrow at her back, "Why don't you talk to me like that when we're alone?"

Michonne snickered as she left the room, leaving Rick to sigh at the ceiling. He truly didn't feel comfortable sleeping in her home without her mother's knowledge, but the offer was appealing since he was still very exhausted, so he sat weighing up his options for a moment before deciding that he would have a nap, then leave when the coast was clear.

He removed his boots and his clothes, remaining in just his boxers and socks. He climbed into her bed with a low satisfied groan, about to lay down when he realised that Andre was no longer asleep. Instead the toddler was standing in his crib, staring at Rick with tired eyes with his headphones no longer on. He raised a pudgy hand and waved as he uttered quietly, "Hi"

"Hey there, buddy", Rick greeted in a whisper as he climbed back out the bed, "I'm gonna' need you to go back to sleep before mommy kills me"

Andre yawned as he rubbed his eyes, mumbling something along the lines of, "My juice…"

"You need to go back to sleep", Rick repeated, standing by his crib as he pleaded with the boy, "Please, I'm begging you"

Andre lifted his arms, signalling he wanted to be carried, "Mommy's bed"

"You wanna' sleep in Mommy's bed?", He asked and Andre nodded, his dark brown curls bouncing on his head. Rick saw no other option but to pick him up, "Alright, fine. I probably couldn't cuddle with your mother anyway since she sleeps like she's in a coffin"

Andre's head lulled back and forth tiredly as Rick carried him over to the bed, and luckily for him the toddler crawled right into the centre of the mattress and curled up like a bug, already preparing to go back to sleep. Rick smiled to himself as he got comfortable again, just as Michonne crept back into the room with her face mask intact.

"We have to get up at…", She began, but quickly stopped when she saw her son in her bed, "Why is he-"

"He woke up", Rick shrugged, his eyelids growing heavier by the second, "Said he wanted to sleep here"

She looked from Rick to Andre, then back to Rick, and threw her hands up in defeat as she muttered something under her breath.

"Love you, too", Rick breathed, falling asleep almost as quickly as Andre did.

He didn't think the first time he'd share a bed with Michonne would include Andre, but he was happy with the little addition. He was beginning to feel like a family man again and nothing could make Rick feel anymore delighted, and he would have been even more so if he had gotten a chance to wake up beside them, but instead he woke up alone.

The sun was spilling in through the window and he could hear nothing throughout the home. He sat up feeling refreshed and peered at Michonne's red and white alarm clock, learning that it was early in the afternoon. He leaned over the side of the bed and fished his cell phone out of his jeans pocket, preparing to call her as he laid back down when he heard the familiar sound of a woman's laughter.

Rick sat bolt upright and listened hoping he hadn't heard what he think he did, but when Marie laughed again his heart sank.

"No, no, no, no, not again", He hissed under his breath as he jumped out of Michonne's bed and began putting on his clothes, yanking his t-shirt over his head first when he heard a man's booming laugh rattle the apartment. Rick frowned as he muttered, " _I don't even wanna' know what they're laughing at_ "

Once he was dressed he crept over the door and turned the handle at a snail's pace, listening closely for the older couple's whereabouts. When he was sure he heard nothing he started to inch out the room, breathing and moving as quietly as possible, until he heard the faint sound of pleasure filled moans, leading him to snap his eyes shut as if that would tune out noise.

He powered on, able to see the front door from where he was stood on the hallway when he realised the moans were closer than he thought.

Despite suspecting that his girlfriend's mother and her boyfriend were in fact somewhere in the living room and not her bedroom, Rick still poked his head forward to see exactly where they were; a move he immediately regretted. His eyes snapped shut again but this time he shook his head, hoping that would at least help him forget what he saw.

He knew he was in over his head, and he accepted that he would have to retreat back to Michonne's room until it was truly safe for him to leave unseen, but like with everything else in Rick's life, it would never be that simple. His cell phone rang loud and crystal clear from his jean pocket, causing the couple to gasp, and Michonne's mother to yell out, "Who's there?!".


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20:**

"I've been trying to call you? Is everything okay?", Michonne questioned hurriedly as she climbed out of Maggie's truck and gave her friend a parting wave, "I'm outside, I'll be up in a-"

"Your mother's here", Rick declared in a deflated tone, "She uh, has a friend here with her"

Michonne froze as she looked at her apartment block, "Wait- what? She's... _Oh my God_ -"

"Yeah, so can you hurry up and-"

"She came home with him again?!", She hissed, her face contorting in horror, "You didn't see anything, did you? Oh my God, I'm so sorry Rick"

"Don't be, just... just come up here and-"

"I knew you were tired so I thought I'd let you get some rest- I thought I'd be home before her but obviously I was wrong-"

"Michonne? Can you just come up, please?"

She sighed as she looked at the windows to her home, "I don't think I want to"

"Well I'd really appreciate it if you did", He said in a slightly strained tone, "I think we could all use another person to look at instead of each other"

Michonne groaned as she started towards her home, "Fine, I'm coming"

"Thank you."

She didn't think she would regret allowing her boyfriend to get some much needed rest in her bed while she went to class, but after learning that her mother had returned home with her mystery lover for another lunch time tryst, she felt incredibly guilty that Rick had to be the one to catch them. She only hoped that he didn't witness as much as she did. She dreaded going into her home so much that she couldn't open her front door any slower if she tried.

The first person she saw on the couch was her mother, wearing her nurse's uniform but the usually pristine material was creased beyond belief. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head and her nude lipstick smudged. Michonne inwardly cringed.

Beside her mother was a large, fit man that she remembered from their previous encounter. He was bold but with a full silver beard and large brown eyes that looked everywhere else but at Michonne. His white shirt was as creased as her mother's scrubs and his tie hung loosely around his neck. Last but not least she saw her poor boyfriend, who was sat on the recliner with his baseball cap low, so low that Michonne could barely see his eyes.

The trio remained silent as she dropped her bag on the floor and crossed her arms over her chest, "Well..."

Her mother cleared her throat, "Uh, Michonne, this is Ezekiel. Ezekiel, this is my daughter Michonne"

The man tried to smile as he held out his hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you"

She took her time to cross the small space between them to shake his hand, "Likewise"

Her mother narrowed her eyes at her, "We weren't aware that Rick would be here this afternoon?"

Michonne returned to her first position, "I wasn't aware that you'd be home for lunch?"

Her mother blinked at her, "Look, we had an awkward moment earlier and poor Rick is probably scarred for life so I think its best we just... you know, try our best to forget about this"

"Fine", Michonne agreed, her arms still crossed over her chest, "Are you going back to work? Like that?"

Her mother gave her a discreet look of warning, but blew her cover when she spoke through gritted teeth, "I am going to freshen up"

"Alright. Well we're leaving", She glanced in Rick's direction, "Let's go"

Rick sprung up from the couch, "Uh, it was uh, well... bye"

"Bye", Ezekiel tried to smile again but looked as though he was grimacing.

Michonne snatched her bag up from the ground and led Rick out of her home, not saying a word until she was at the staircase that led to the ground floor, where she began hissing to her boyfriend, "Did you hear what she said?! Did you see them?! Can you believe them?!"

Rick took in a deep breath, "I did hear what she said, and sadly I did see them, and yes I can believe it"

She gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry you had to wake up to that"

"Why didn't you just wake me up?"

"You were tired Rick, I thought I'd leave you to get some sleep then come back and wake you up"

He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, "Well, that was some wake up call. And I hate that I know that that guy has a tattoo"

She bit her bottom lip as she felt a giggle brewing in her stomach, "Oh God"

"That's not funny, Michonne", He said seriously, "The only other person that should know that he has that is the doctor that performs his _prostate_ exam"

Laughter erupted from her as she dropped her head on his chest, "God! Stop!"

"I wish I could blink it away but it's burned into my memory", He complained while wrapping an arm around her, "I didn't know where to look when we were all sitting there"

"Why did you just leave?", She lifted her head to look at him as they began descending the stairs.

"I was going to but your mother said 'wait- I need to explain' so I did. I think she thought you were there, too"

"Ugh", She groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead, "I'm gonna' have to talk to her about this later... And next time I'll remember to wake you up"

"Oh there's definitely not going to be a next time", He scoffed, "I told you that I think you and Andre should start staying over with me, and this just strengthened that argument"

She huffed in defeat, "I guess you're right"

He looked down at her as they reached the bottom of the stairs, "Yeah? That's somethan' you want too?"

She looked up at him as her brows began to furrow, "Why don't you ever believe me?"

His bright blue eyes sailed away from her for a second, "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just I wanna' be sure. I want you to be sure too"

"Rick, you're asking me to stay over a few nights - not move in with you", She started to chuckle at her own joke but stopped when he cringed, his gaze finally coming back to hers. Her frown quickly returned, "Rick..."

"I'm not saying right this moment or tomorrow, I'm just thinking... why don't we work towards that? You start staying over... and you know, one day you just don't leave..."

Michonne felt a mixture of shock and excitement at his suggestion, but still had to ask, "Are you sure that's something you'd want?"

"Of course", He said certainly, "Especially after today"

She felt laughter bubbling in her stomach, "Well I can't blame you for that.. I was actually hoping that we'd have a little time alone when I got back"

He raised a questioning brow at her, "Oh? What for?"

"You know what for"

"I do but I want you to say it", He grinned, pulling her closer by her waist as they began to walk again, "And I wanna' hear you talk to me like you did last night"

She rolled her eyes playfully at him, "I told you to hurry up and get in my bed"

"Change those two last words to somethan' else-"

She squealed with delight, "Stop that"

Michonne hadn't forgotten about her mother or her mystery lover, and she did plan to speak with her about her lunch time escapades with Ezekiel when she returned home, but Rick's impromptu invitation for her and Andre to move in with him did seem like the best option for all of them. Her mother may have found someone that she wished to spend the rest of her life with and Michonne didn't want to encroach on that, she wanted to give her mother the room to explore whatever was happening between her and Ezekiel without having to worry about her daughter and grandson.

She also felt ready to explore her own relationship with Rick further. She was certain she loved him and she could see that Andre was a big fan of her boyfriend, so the thought of taking the steps to new milestones with him brought her nothing but delight.

"You snore by the way", Rick announced once they had fastened themselves in their truck, "Not that loudly but... loud enough for me to think there was a bee nearby"

Michonne bit the inside of her cheek as she stared out the windshield window, "Hilarious."

He grinned as he looked in her direction, "Between that and that mask you were wearing-"

"How about we talk about you? And you inability to stay still when you sleep?", She countered with a raised brow.

He frowned at her, "Everyone moves around in their sleep"

She snorted in retaliation, "It looked like you were dancing, Rick"

He flung his head back as he roared with laughter, "Dancing? Really?"

"Really."

He shook his head as a string of chuckles left him, about to start the vehicle when his phone rang out from his pocket, "I need to keep this on vibrate from now on... You're the reason why your mother caught me when I was trying to sneak back to your room"

"How was I to know that you were in the middle of a stealth mission?", She muttered, reaching into her bag pack for a bottle of water.

"Yeah?", Rick answered this cell then continued to start the vehicle, "He's sick? Really sick?"

She began drinking her water as she peered at him from the corner of her eye, listening to his conversation. She saw him bite his lip and look to the roof of his truck as he agreed to go somewhere, then hung up his phone and chucked it on the dashboard. She took a wild guess, "Carl's sick?"

"Apparently, but I'm not sure I believe that", He scoffed, "He did this last time when he had a test that he didn't study for"

Michonne squirmed in her seat, "You think I should hang back here then? He might not want to see me…"

Rick glanced at her with his light brows knitting together, "What?..."

"I'm just saying-"

"I told you, I talked to him about everythan' and he feels better about it", He insisted tenderly, "He was a little worried at first but I think he's coming around to the idea"

Michonne stared at the side of his face, "Take me home."

His eyes widened as he looked at her, "Are you being serious?"

"Rick, I don't think I should just spring up on him! What if he was hoping to just go home and chill out with his dad-"

"Well that would be a problem because he's meant to be sick"

"You can still be sick while hanging out with your, dad", She pointed out dryly, "And I want him to be mentally prepared to see me the next time we all get together-"

"Mentally prepared? Mentally prepared?", He squinted at the windshield as the truck turned left, "What do you think you are? Some kind of Rubik's cube?"

Michonne pursed her lips, trying her hardest not to let a chuckle escape.

"To be honest, I don't even think he remembers that he wasn't sure about this? I've seen that boy forget something that he done seconds before, so you think he's gonna' remember this? You are giving him a lot of credit"

"Rick! Be serious!", She snapped angrily, but failing to contain her chuckle in the end, "I don't want to spring up on him. I want him to feel ready to see me"

Her boyfriend groaned as he looked out if rear-view mirror, "Alright fine, I'll drop you off at my place and then I'll go get him. I can warn him that you're gonna' be there on the way back"

She thought about that suggestion. She did want to see Carl and begin to mend their frayed relationship, but she desperately didn't want to do anything to annoy him further. They had hit it off well after their first few encounters and she wanted to share something similar to what Rick had with her son. She knew it would take some time but she was in it for the long haul. She sighed as she gave in, "Okay but if I get any indication that he doesn't want to see me then I'm leaving, Rick. I mean it"

Rick huffed, "Sure. Fine. Perfectly fine"

"I mean-"

"I agreed with you", He eyed her a second time, "I got it. You don't need to turn into a vampire to prove your point"

She wrinkled her nose in confusion, "A vampire?"

"Yep… Because you sleep like you're in a coffin-"

"Oh, very funny!", She whacked his arm playfully as she reluctantly laughed.

They continued to tease each other relentlessly on the short drive over to his apartment, and when they arrived he gave her the key and left her to venture up to his home alone. She was actually glad to have a moment alone in his dwellings so she could really look around.

When she really thought about it, she didn't know that much about her boyfriend, besides the general information. She didn't know what movies he favoured, or what genre of music he preferred. She didn't even know that much about his family life; she had met Carl, Lori and Jeffrey, but she knew nothing of his parents or what his life was like in Kings County. She didn't wish to snoop around so she simply gazed at the pictures he had on display and eyed every DVD he had in his collection, surprised to see that he had a huge amount of old western movies she hadn't even heard of. Beside his collection were a stack of books, which consisted of more western stories. She left the area alone when she was beginning to see a pattern.

Her search wasn't giving her anything ground-breaking so she was ready to give up, when she noticed a newspaper article hung up high on the wall, too high for her to even read it. After looking around for a step-ladder and finding nothing of the sort, she grabbed a bar stool from the kitchen and marched back into his bedroom. It took some time, but once she was able to balance the stool on top of the chest of drawers against the wall, she climbed up with trembling hands and knees, squinting so that she could see the framed article. It did occur to her that she could have just asked her boyfriend about it, but the fact that it was placed out of anyone's eye view suggested to her that he probably didn't wish to discuss it.

"Oh my God", She hissed as she placed her hands flat on the wall, too terrified to look down. It was as she got close enough that she was able to see the words 'County News' at the top of the page, causing her to whisper, "Of course…"

Further down the sheet was a black and white picture of a group of males, posing on some sort of stage. She squinted some more and managed to see the tiny heading, where two words stood out to her, 'Mayor Grimes'. She gasped, her eyes darting back up to the image. The man in the middle wore a sash, which was too faded for her to read, and he was stood next to another older man who beamed at the camera. The other two males were young, possibly in their early teens, and they didn't look anywhere near as happy to pose. The smaller one appeared to snarl, a snarl she had seen before on both Rick and Carl.

"Oh my God!", She gasped, realizing that it was Rick that she was looking at, and in her excitement she moved a little to wildly, causing the stool to shift and inch. The movement scared her and in a matter of seconds she was trying to find something to hold onto but she failed, and ended up hitting the dresser and landing on her face against on the carpet.

"Ahh God!", She coughed out, using all her strength to lift her shoulders off the floor but her casted hand felt numb with pain. It took her a moment but she began to push herself up with a grown, about to curse to the heavens when she saw something embedded in the carpet where her face was. She narrowed her eyes at the white rock, wondering where it was when reality hit her, "No!"

She tried to jump up and get to a mirror but her back hurt, so she stumbled her way across the room and into the bathroom. To her horror, she discovered that one of her front teeth had been chipped in half, and a tiny cut in her lip began to bleed. She began to release a string of curse words when she heard a deep male voice. Panic led her to race out the bathroom and back into Rick's room, where she quickly picked up the stool and climbed back into the living and kitchen area.

Maybe it was just her luck, but just as she sat the stool back on the ground, the door opened to reveal Rick and his son, so in her haste to appear as if she hadn't nearly broken her back trying to read a hidden article, she simply sat on the stool and crossed her legs, smiling with her lips pressed tightly together when both males noticed her.

"Hey…", Rick greeted her, looking her from head to toe, "You've been sitting here the whole time?"

She giggled as she nodded, trying to discreetly wipe the sheen of sweat from her forehead.

"...Hey", Carl said a little strangely as he closed the front door, looking at her the same way his father did.

Michonne waved at him as she tried to think of ways to speak without opening her mouth.

"...Carls got some kind of stomach bug so I'm gonna' set him up on the couch", Rick explained as he peeled his jacket off, his eyes glued to her face, "...Are you alright?"

Michonne spun the other way on the stool so she could speak without showing either of them her newly chipped tooth, "Fine! So should I put something on the stove for you, Carl?"

She wasn't surprised to see them both frowning at her when she turned back, but she continued to give them a closed mouth smile. Carl narrowed his eyes as he used his thumb to point towards his bedroom, "Uh, I'm okay… thanks… I'm just gonna' put my stuff down"

She gave him a thumbs up and a nod of her head.

Rick had been watching his girlfriend with pure suspension as he slowly made his way around the kitchen island, "Michonne?"

She raised her eyebrows to signal that she was listening, while humming in response.

"What did you do?", He asked in a curious tone, his bright blue eyes studying every inch of her face.

She shook her head as she shrugged, able to mutter out, "Nothing"

He stopped dead in front of her, "Nothing? Are you sure?"

She pulled her lips between her teeth as she nodded a second time.

His chest rose as he inhaled deeply, "Alright… well, why don't you order us somethan' to eat?"

Michonne smiled as she nodded once again.

Rick squinted at her, and for a small second she thought he had realised what the problem was, but when he began to back away from her, she thought she was in the clear. She turned away from him as she finally spoke, "Let me just get my phone"

When she turned around she found that Rick was right behind her and she gasped, snapping her mouth shut. He squinted at her again, "Is your lip bleeding?"

She exhaled tiredly as she was unable to think of a lie quick enough. Instead she just smiled to show him the extent of her damage.

Ricks eyes almost bulged, "I left you alone for, what? Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes? And you do that? How? When?"

She sighed, "I… was looking at something"

Rick looked around his apartment, "What? What were you looking at that made you lose half a tooth?"

"...Something high up? That would have required me to balance on the stool to see?"

He looked back at her with an intense frown as he tried to figure out what she meant, "What? Where?"

"...Your _bedroom_?", She replied quietly.

All of a sudden his expression changed. He had figured it out. Michonne expected him to tell her off but instead he simply huffed and ignored the revelation, "It's a good thang I got that money from Glenn yesterday because you are gonna' need that fixed"

It was her turn to frown at him, watching his back with pure confusion as he headed towards the fridge, "Um, okay _but_ -"

"Let's get you some ice", He announced a little firmly, yanking open the fridge door so hard that the content's rattled, "Then I'll order us something"

Michonne kept her mouth closed. Everything about his behaviour from that point on suggested that he wasn't going to even mention the article or why he had it hidden up so high. She had pried far enough and she wouldn't go any further if she knew it would distress him somehow. She took the ice cube him and leaned on the kitchen counter while he retrieved his phone, knowing that she would have to work hard to change both Grimes males opinion on her before she left to go home and face her mother.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

"Are you going to talk to me now?"

Rick rolled his eyes up to meet Michonnes for a second, then rolled back down as he continued to cut the slice of chocolate cake that he retrieved from his fridge, "I am talking to you. I never stopped."

Michonne peered at him with narrowed eyes from the other side of the counter, "You know what I mean, Rick. And can you stop giving him cake, please? He needs to eat something with a little more substance"

Rick peaked at the toddler waiting beside him. Andre was stood on his toes, waiting eagerly for his second helping. Rick shrugged, "I promised him on the way back here that I'd give him some cake"

"A _whole_ slice?"

"...He's small for his age", Rick insisted while handing Andre a piece he could manage. Andre took it with glee as he sank down to the floor and began chewing away. Rick popped his finger into his mouth to clean off some frosting, "We need to make sure he grows big and strong"

Michonne rolled her eyes at his comment, "...As I was saying… Are you going to start talking to me now?"

"Dad, the shower was being weird", Carl informed as he stepped out of the bathroom with his red and blue bathrobe on.

"Great.", Rick sighed, eyeing his son as he crossed the living area to get to his bedroom, "Did you break it?"

"No, it just kept turning on and off", Carl replied just before he shut the door to his bedroom.

Rick shook his head with despair as he was about to investigate the problem for himself, but he caught Michonne still looking at him so he decided he'd tackle that problem first, "I'm talking to you, Michonne"

"You left here to get Andre in a huff", She quickly countered, "Then came back in a huff and Andre kept trying to look in my mouth because 'dad said you have no teeth'."

Rick had to purse his lips together to stop an amused smile from spreading across his face, "...I _may_ have vented to him a little when we were heading back…"

Michonne gave him a serious look, "Are you mad about my tooth or are you mad about what I saw up there?"

"I'm mad about the fact that you're sneaky and accident-prone", He blurted out dryly, causing her to gasp in shock.

"I am not sneaky!", She hissed, holding a hand against her chest.

"You're also dramatic", He added, unable to hide his amusement any longer, "You could have sucked up all the air in the room with that gasp"

Michonne's lip began to quiver as she bit back a giggle, "I am being serious right now, Rick"

He let out a deep sigh as he placed both hands on the counter and looked her directly in the eye, "There are certain parts of my life that I'd rather you had no business with"

Her head jerked back an inch to show her genuine offense.

"Don't do that, Michonne. I don't mean it like that", He explained, "I mean, there are… people in my family that aren't worth discussing, that I don't want anythan' to do with- that I don't want anywhere near you, Carl or Andre. You're none of their business"

"So we can't even talk about it?", She began to furrow her thin brows at him, "They're not here, Rick"

"I don't even want to talk about them", He shrugged at the suggestion, "You're apart of my now and they aren't. I want to keep it that way."

Her shoulder slumped as she removed her forearms from the counter, "That's not fair, Rick"

He squinted as he repeated her last words, "It's not _fair_? How?"

"My TV's broken!", Carl yelled from behind his bedroom door.

"Well get dressed _without_ the TV on!", Rick called back, his eyes still on his girlfriend, "Go on? Tell me how it's not fair?"

"Because I need to know everything about you", She stressed while leaning back on the counter, "I don't like the fact that there's this whole portion of your life that I'm clueless about. I've told you everything about me"

"That's a lie", He countered easily, "I'm still in the dark about a couple of thangs."

"Then ask me and I'll tell you!", Her dreads swung from side to side in her high ponytail, "Go on. Ask away."

He stared at her for a second before replying, "Fine. Your dad?"

Her eyes widened by a tiny fraction.

"See? It's not easy is it?", He reasoned, "You don't have to go into it if you're not ready¬"

"No, I can", She insisted, trying to perk up a little, "He had a heart attack. We had… a good relationship. I think about him a lot and it's because of him that I put up with Mike for as long as I did. I thought that a lousy father was better than no father at all."

Rick wasn't expecting to receive such an insightful answer. He felt a little ashamed for asking a loaded question so flippantly, "...I understand."

"See? It wasn't hard", She gave him a little shrug.

He felt inclined to share with her since she'd shared with him, "Look, my family were very involved with politics. All my fathers before me were mayors and it… we hated it. Jeffrey and I hated it. They were great politicians but… lousy parents. Thangs were bad between us but they got worse when Lori got pregnant so we left and I never spoke to them again. That's it."

Her mouth had fallen agape while he spoke, "...So Carl's never¬"

"Nope. Never."

"Has he asked?"

Rick averted his gaze for a moment, "Once or twice. He's not really interested."

Michonne stared at him in silence for a few seconds before she whispered, "So were you rich?"

A dry chuckle escaped his lips, "Comfortable enough, but don't worry, I'm sure that I've been cut out of many wills already"

She pretended to be saddened by that news and Rick involuntarily roared with laughter.

"You thought you'd hit the jackpot, huh?", He teased.

"I already did hit the jackpot with you", She replied sweetly, but added, "It would have been a nice bonus though…"

He scoffed at her, "You're telling me. I could be laying on a beach somewhere right now, sipping on a cold beer while watching you dance around in a bikini and leaving the boys to frolic in the sea"

His girlfriend cackled at his joke, "Why would I be dancing in a bikini on the beach?"

"Because I'll never forget the first time you danced for me, that's why", He grinned as he leaned on the counter to be closer to her, "If you move in here then I'm getting one of those poles in the bedroom"

She sat forward so that their noses were only inches away from each other, "You could put those bills that you hide under the bed to some use"

His grin slipped away, "How'd you know about that?"

Her face fell blank.

"See? You _are_ sneaky, Michonne"

"I was just peaking!", She said in a high pitched tone, "I didn't move anything, I just… took a little peek here and there"

"What were you even looking for?", He hated how he still found her so adorable even when he was annoyed, "You hoping to find somethan'?"

"Yes, actually I was. I wanted to find out more about you and I thought what better way to do that then look around¬"

"Sneak around, you mean", He corrected dryly.

She groaned as she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry that I want to know everything about my beautiful, mysterious boyfriend¬"

"Cut that out", He sniggered. He allowed her to rub her nose against his.

"Isn't this cute?"

"I can still smell blood on you, Michonne", He gave her an unimpressed look, "Let me see that tooth"

"It's fine, just a little chip¬"

"How'd you even get up there? I don't have a ladder in here", He looked behind her as he tried to work out what she used to see his forbidden images.

She visibly cringed, "I used the stool… and put it on the dresser…"

Rick's eyes widened, "And you fell off of there?"

"Yeah", She wore a guilty expression as she nodded, "I had to tidy up your room when you went to get Andre because I was reaching for everything when I was falling"

Rick began to laugh so hard that he couldn't even look at her, and when he did finally look up again he laughed even more, "I'm sorry, but that's funny Michonne"

"I was hurt, Rick", She shot back in a monotone, making him laugh even more.

"I know, I'm sorry, come're", He urged, closing the space between them to give her a tender little kiss on her luscious and possibly sore lips.

"Wait- where's Andre?", Michonne jerked back and began looking around with alert in her eyes.

Rick leaned off the counter and looked down to where he last saw the toddler and saw that Andre had fallen asleep against the counter with chocolate smeared around his mouth. Rick began to laugh at the sight just as Carl came out of his bedroom wearing some sweatpants and a t-shirt. His son frowned as he asked, "What is he¬"

"Shhh", Rick hushed, "Tread lightly. He's out like a lamp"

Carl chortled quietly as he joined them at the island while looking down at the toddler, "I wish I was a baby again"

"You're not far off", Rick deadpanned.

Carl made a face at him, "Very funny".

"So what's for dinner?", Michonne asked as she hopped off the bar stool, "Are you cooking anything?"

"Dad doesn't cook. He burns.", Carl snickered as he took her vacant seat.

It was Rick's turn to be offended, "Excuse me? I'll have you know that I can cook- very well, too"

"What can you cook?", Michonne asked as she looked down at her son in surprise, "Oh great. That's going to be fun to clean off."

"Just wipe him off and let him sleep on the couch", Rick suggested, tipping his head towards the paper towels, "I would suggest Carl's bed but…"

"My bedroom's clean", Carl insisted, "You can actually see the floor now"

Rick shuddered at the memory of the rooms previous state, "I'm pleased to hear that I won't be stepping on anythan' cold, wet or cold and wet the next time I go in there"

"Very funny, dad."

Michonne carefully lifted her son up as she tried not to wake him but as soon as his little body was in the air his eyes sprung open and he snapped, "Cake?"

Carl chuckled so hard that he snorted.

"Well, that was short-lived", Rick muttered as he looked at the remaining piece of cake on the counter, "One more piece of cake coming right up".

Spending the afternoon with Michonne, Carl, and Andre was delightful for Rick. He enjoyed seeing them all interact with each other in his home and it started to feel like it was a usual occurrence for Rick.

He didn't realize just how lonely he used to feel after his separation from Lori until he was stood in his kitchen, watching Carl help Andre up to sit beside him on the couch while Michonne looked for the remote to the television. It may not have seemed like a monumental moment to anyone else but it was for him. He was getting a second chance at having a family again, but this time was different. His feelings for Michonne were unlike something he'd felt before. Their relationship was so far from traditional that one would think that neither of them knew the meaning of the word but it was special all the same. He didn't even want to remember what his life was like before he crossed paths with her that faithful night.

Andre was a welcomed addition. Rick didn't think it would be fair of him to enter the boy's life and act as his father initially, but his opinion had changed drastically after his dealings with Mike. He was going to act as his father because that's what felt natural to him, and he couldn't understand how else he was meant to behave. He cared about Andre like one of his own, and that's how he intended to treat him.

He used to worry about how his own son would feel towards their new additions, but he was beginning to think that Carl felt the same way that he did. Even though he hadn't said or done anything out of the ordinary to suggest that he was ecstatic with the change, Rick could tell that his son had realized that his place in the family was safe, and it would always be safe.

After having dinner in front of the tv, and realizing that he had to invest in some dining furniture, Rick had to return Carl to his mother, and Michonne to hers. He didn't want the evening to end but knew that it had to since Andre struggled to keep his head upright when sitting beside Carl. He fell asleep only moments after being strapped in his car seat.

"Are you gonna' thank Michonne for teaching you how to eat pasta with your hands the right way?", Rick asked his son as they stood beside his truck, on the curb of Lori's home.

"Thanks", Carl chirped, waving at Michonne in the passenger seat, "I'm done using forks"

"Yeah, _thanks_ ", Rick added sardonically as he slapped a hand on Carl's shoulder.

"Bye, Carl!", She called, waving goodbye to his son.

"Bye!", He called back, allowing his father to lead up him the garden path, "I just don't see the point in using forks anymore, dad"

"Yeah, well good luck figuring out how to eat rice", Rick smirked as he ruffled his sons' hair.

"Michonne said that she'd teach me that, too", His son countered smugly, "I can't wait to show Mickey"

Rick rolled his eyes at his son as they climbed the porch steps. The door swung open before they were even close, and Lori appeared with a smile on her face as she dried her hands with a cloth, "I had a feeling you'd be here"

"Hey mom", Carl greeted cheerfully, "See ya', dad"

Rick planted a kiss on his head before the boy could disappear into his home, "Bye, son"

Carl squeezed past his mother, who gave him a pat on the back as she watched him step into the home. She then turned back to Rick, and inhaled, "So, good day?"

"Yeah. Oh, uh… he came home early…The school called and said he was sick", Rick scratched his brow as he explained the situation, "He threw up when we got him home but he's been fine since"

Lori stared at him, "You didn't think to call me?"

"I should have", Rick nodded in agreement, "And I'm sorry that I didn't but as you can see, he's fine. If I thought it was serious then I would have given you a call but he perked right up after it happened so I think he just ate somethan' bad."

Lori glanced back inside the home and sighed again, "Right. Got it."

"I'll stop by with some money for him tomorrow morning. I'll post it if you're not in", Rick began to back away.

"I signed the papers", She blurted out, causing Rick to stop, "I signed them and gave them to my lawyer. I don't know what's meant to happen next but I did it."

Rick was surprised, but also very pleased. He thought she'd never bring up their divorce. He gave her a slow nodded as he said, "Alright. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. See ya'..."

Rick went back to his truck with a slight spring in his step. It was as if he was being given a new lease on life. It was the final nail in the coffin and it was a long time coming. He hopped back in his truck and smiled at Michonne, which must have seemed strange to her because she frowned at him, "What are you smiling about?"

"...She signed them", He huffed as he turned the key in the ignition, "The divorce papers…"

Rick looked at Michonne when he didn't get the immediate response that he was expecting, and he was met with a set of angry brown eyes, "You're _still_ married?!"

Rick turned switched the engine off and looked at her like she was crazy, "What?"

An evil smile began to spread across her face, and her trademark cackle soon cut through the air.

He shook his head as he started up the engine again, "You're not funny, Michonne"

"That's for laughing at me when I told you that I fell off the dresser", She sniggered, "You should have seen your face"

He reluctantly smiled, "I'm telling your mother about that tattoo"

His girlfriend laughed even louder.

Their ride over to her home continued on a high note, and when they arrived at her apartment Rick took on the task of retrieving a sleeping Andre and carrying him up to their home. He noticed that Michonne grew quiet as they approached the door and it was clear to him that she was thinking about the conversation she was due to have with her mother. She took a deep breath before allowing them in, and in spite of what was in store for them, Rick couldn't help but be distracted by the tasty smell that filled the air.

"Your home", Marie piped as she pulled a dish from the over, "Oh, hello Rick"

"Marie", Rick smiled. He tried to take a peek at what was in the dish but she set it down on the cooker, "Nice to see you again"

"Is it? I'm surprised you can still look me in the eye", She smirked.

Rick inwardly cringed, "Yeah… It's fine, I mean- that can happen sometimes"

Michonne closed the door behind her with a little more force than necessary, "Hi, mom"

Marie set down the oven mitt she was holding and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at her daughter. Rick glanced in Michonne's direction and saw that she had done the same; setting her backpack down on the floor and crossing her arms over her chest. He immediately felt like he shouldn't be there, so cleared his throat as he sidestepped to Michonne's bedroom, "I'll just go and put him down…"

Neither of them said anything, so he did as he said and scurried out of the room. He hoped that they wouldn't argue. He knew how much Michonne's mother meant to her and how willing her mother was to fight anyone for her daughter, so it was unsettling for him to witness them at odds.

He decided that his presence might help keep them at bay, so he placed Andre on his mother's bed with the intention of returning to the kitchen area quickly, but realized the Andre wouldn't be comfortable with his shoes and jacket on. He removed the items of clothing, and was about to put him under the comforter but thought that it wouldn't be comfortable to sleep in a pair of denim jeans. After a hasty search, he found some pajama pants to put on the toddler, and gingerly changed him so he wouldn't wake up. When he was finally dressed in something more pleasant to sleep in, Rick tucked him in his mother's bed and placed his headphones on, just in case.

When Rick returned to the kitchen area it took him several moments to take in the sight before him; Michonne's back was towards him as she embraced Marie, who was rocking from side to side in a soothing motion. When she spotted Rick creeping in she chuckled, "We need to get you a bell"

They broke away from each other while Rick tried to calculate just how he'd left them alone for, "...I think that might be my next purchase."

Michonne dabbed her eyes as she turned to face him, "Sorry about that"

"Don't apologize, it's fine", He insisted. Although he knew that she wasn't hurt in any way and was probably just feeling overwhelmed, he still felt himself on high alert to see that she'd been crying.

"I hope you're staying for dinner, Rick", Marie spoke in a tone that told him there was no room for argument. She looked back at him from over her shoulder as she lifted the lid on something on the stove, "There's plenty of food"

"Oh, I'd hate to put you out…", That sweet smell seeped into his nostrils, "But if there's room then I'd love to"

The sound of little footsteps coming up behind him almost scared the life out of Rick, and spun around to see Andre rubbing his eyes as he called gently, "Mommy?"

Michonne groaned as she scooped him up, "Well someone's going to be on night watch tonight"

"I put the headphones on him", Rick quickly explained, "And he was fast asleep when I left him"

"He could sense that we were having fun without him", She snickered while smoothing her hand over her sons' messy curls, "He didn't want to miss anything"

"Next time I'll throw a piece of cake in his crib¬"

"Make yourselves useful and set the table", Marie instructed with her back to the couple, "I cooked so you two set"

Michonne gave Rick a knowing look as she whispered, "Welcome to the family"

He beamed at her and Andre, his heart swelling devotion as he replied, "I couldn't ask for anythan' better".


	22. Chapter 22

Epilogue

"Catch him, Carl! He'll run right out this park if you don't!"

Rick watched as his son managed to catch Andre with one arm before he could make it off the grass. He breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was the birthday boy crossing the state line before they'd even sung 'happy birthday' to him. Carl carried Andre on his hip as he walked beside his mother, sharing in their own private conversation before they made it to the picnic tables.

"...That's why you can't just start throwing punches- you need to find your own special technique", Rick caught the end of Shane's speech and turned back to see his friend speaking to Michonne as they joined him by the table carrying trays of food. Shane continued, "You see, I like them to get a little comfortable before I hit them, so they're not expecting it. Then I come in with my right hand and pop them right in the jaw. If you're quick enough then you can try and get another punch in there but it's not always necessary, the first punch should always be enough to knock them out"

"Alright, Shane. I'll remember that", Michonne replied politely as she put the tray down, "Always punch them in the jaw first"

"That's right."

"Hey", Lori greeted softly when they finally made it to Rick. She flicked her hair back over her shoulder, "Great day to have a party, huh?"

"It is", Rick looked at Andre in his son's arms and saw that he was holding a red and white striped bag, "What you got there Rocket?"

"Oh, it's nothing big. Just somethan' small…", Lori explained, "Couldn't send him here empty handed"

"What are you wearing Uncle Shane?", Carl asked with a dry chuckle as he looked at the man strangely.

Shane raised an eyebrow at Carl as he stood up straight in his clown outfit, "What's it look like? I'm the best damn clown you'll ever see"

"You've done nothing at all to suggest that", Rick countered as he looked back at his friend, "I saw you drinking a beer under a tree five minutes ago- and where are Daryl and Glenn?"

"Glenn's over there making googly eyes at the brunette and Daryl went off to have a smoke", Shane squinted at him, "He didn't want the kids to see Goofy smoking so I don't know where he went"

Rick slowly inhaled as he tried to remain calm, just as Marie appeared beside him with a wide smile, "You must be Carl's mother? I'm Marie, the birthday boy's one and only grandmother"

Rick almost snickered at her introduction, while Lori held out her hand, "Very nice to meet you. I'm Lori"

"Nice to meet you too, and it's good to see you guys made it", Marie gestured to the table after shaking her hand, "Come, sit down and help yourselves"

"Oh…", Lori looked to Rick for help, "I wasn't staying- I was just going to drop Carl… Don't want to make it… you know"

"What? Awkward?", Marie began to cackle as she finished Lori's sentence for her, "I think we've all been in worse situations"

All the adults murmured in agreement, and Rick nearly snorted when he heard Michonne mutter, "You can say that again"

"Goofy!", Andre cheered when he saw the Daryl in full costume, "Mommy! Goofy!"

"Oh look! It's Goofy!", Michonne gasped, pretending to be as excited as her son, "Why don't you go over and say Hi?"

"I'll take him", Carl adjusted his hold on him before strolling away, "I gotta' see this"

"Have a drink", Rick suggested to Lori as he turned around, "There's plenty of food, too"

"Alright", His ex-wife tucked her hair behind her ear, "Thank you"

"Can you come on Shane? I'm bustin' my ass over here", Glenn panted as he stood by the table of beverages and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Oh, please!", Shane scoffed, "You're bustin' your ass trying to _get_ some ass"

Marie stopped tending to the food on the table and stood up straight as she gave Shane a 'no-nonsense' look.

Shane bowed his head, "I apologize, Marie. I meant no disrespect at all. I just forgot where I was"

"I appreciate that. Now get over there and make my grandbaby smile", Marie instructed firmly as she sat her hand on her hip, "Come on, let's go"

"Yes, ma'am".

Rick bit his bottom lip as he made no attempt to hide his amusement. He leaned over to Michonne to whisper, "How much do you wanna' bet that she's gonna' have him in a chokehold by the end of this party?"

Michonne shook her head as she sniggered, "You'd have to get her off of him"

Rick blew out a breath at the thought, "I would pull up a seat and watch¬"

"Marie? Where do you want this?", Ezekiel asked as he strutted over to the table with a large water bottle over his shoulder.

"Just over there, Honey", Marie called back sweetly as she oogled him, leading him to wink at her as he followed her instructions. Rick was his with a series of flashbacks that plagued his mind.

"God, I'm so hot", Michonne moaned, using a paper plate to fan herself. She was wearing a Mini Mouse costume that appeared to be more sexy than wholesome to Rick. She lifted her dreads off of her neck in a bid to call down, "I need to get out of this thing"

"... _Stop_ it", Rick mumbled to himself when he felt his lower half come alive.

"Hey, Peanut said that he wants some cake", Maggie announced as she carried the toddler back over to the table, "Where are the cupcakes?"

"She's still calling him Peanut?", Rick hissed to Michonne, "We're gonna' confuse the poor boy"

"I dare you to tell her to stop calling him that", Michonne challenged him with a small smirk on her face.

Rick glanced over to Maggie. Even though she was a kind young woman, he could sense that there was something rather cut-throat about her. He looked back at his girlfriend and gave her a simple, "No."

" _Exactly_."

He sighed as he turned his attention back to the rest of the party. Shane was finally entertaining the other small children from Andre's class while Daryl and Glenn stood at his side. The bounce house was being set up for them to enjoy before their meal and Marie had enlisted some help from her colleagues to set up a face painting stall. Rick was pleased with how while the party was turning out, as he had stayed up all night helping Michonne personalize the party bags and prepare the food. He was still quite tired but his girlfriend seemed to be even more so.

"Ugh, do you know how much I love deviled eggs? These are perfect", Maggie gushed, as she popped one in her mouth, "Have you tried these? Taste them"

Michonne recoiled in horror when her friend held one out for her, "God, no. The smell of those are making me feel sick"

Rick was sure he wasn't the only one to jump when they heard something hit the table hard. He spun around to see what had happened and heard Maggie ask, "Are you okay, Marie?"

Marie only had eyes for her daughter, so ignored the question. She seemed rattled; her eyes were wide and her mouth agape. She finally spoke in a strained voice, "You're pregnant"

Rick looked from Marie to Michonne, then back to Marie, then to Michonne once more as he waited for his girlfriend to deny her claim but Michonne didn't say anything. She was rooted in her position with eyes just as wide as her mothers.

The penny finally dropped for Rick and whether it was because of fear or shock he decided to look at Marie, and unsurprisingly the woman was rolling up the sleeves of her blouse as she stared him down with fire in her eyes.

Rick looked back at Michonne, "Is it true?"

She peaked at him from the corners of her eyes as she answered in a tiny voice, "...Yeah"

He inhaled a deep breath as he looked back at her mother, "Alright. Go ahead, Marie".

 **END**

A/N: Hey Angels! I hope you guys enjoyed this. Sorry it took so long to get the last chapters out but I hope that some of you will be pleased to know that I've already started on a second fic and I'm aiming to have it out this week. I've been super excited about taking these two somewhere different so fingers crossed that it's something that some of you enjoy, but thank you for reading and thank you all so much for all the reviews! Love you guys!

\- Bae


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